Which to use
“monkeys” and “monks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,829
- “monkeys” frequency rank
- #10,889
- “monks” frequency rank
- 19718
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | monkeys | monks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of monkey | plural of monk |
Where the eye mixes monkeys and monks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. monkeys runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against monks's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between monkeys and monks
A purely visual mix-up. monkeys (/ˈmʌŋkiz/) and monks (/mʌŋks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
monkeys is recorded at frequency rank #8,829, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌŋkiz/. monks is at rank #10,889, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mʌŋks/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 19718, this pair ranks #436,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of monkeys vs monks
Shared letters: kmnos. Private to "monkeys": ey. Private to "monks": -.
"monkeys" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "monks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "monkeys" and "monks" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "monkeys" vs "monks" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "monkeys" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "monks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #436,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "monkeys" and "monks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "monks vs mook". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #436,202 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.