Which to use
“moths” and “mouths” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,157
- “moths” frequency rank
- #10,891
- “mouths” frequency rank
- 33048
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moths | mouths |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of moth | plural of mouth |
Where the eye mixes moths and mouths
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses moths with mouths
A purely visual mix-up. moths (/mɔθs/) and mouths (/maʊðz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33048, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moths is recorded at frequency rank #22,157, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɔθs/. mouths is at rank #10,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced /maʊðz/.
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 33048, this pair ranks #332,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of moths vs mouths
Shared letters: hmost. Private to "moths": -. Private to "mouths": u.
"moths" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "mouths" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "moths" for "mouths" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "moths" or "mouths" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "moths" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mouths" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #332,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "moths" and "mouths" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mote vs moths". 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 #332,690 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.