Which to use
“nicks” and “nieces” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,523
- “nicks” frequency rank
- #25,858
- “nieces” frequency rank
- 52381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nicks | nieces |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of nick | plural of niece |
Where the eye mixes nicks and nieces
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. nicks runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against nieces's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: nicks vs nieces
A purely visual mix-up. nicks (/nɪks/) and nieces (/ˈnisɪz/) 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 52381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nicks is recorded at frequency rank #26,523, classified as anoun, pronounced /nɪks/. nieces is at rank #25,858, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈnisɪz/.
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 52381, this pair ranks #157,519 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nicks vs nieces
Shared letters: cins. Private to "nicks": k. Private to "nieces": e.
"nicks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "nieces" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nicks" and "nieces" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nicks" vs "nieces" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nicks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nieces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,519 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nicks" and "nieces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nicks vs nooks". 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 #157,519 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.