Which to use
“parentheses” and “parenthesis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,539
- “parentheses” frequency rank
- #45,571
- “parenthesis” frequency rank
- 70110
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parentheses | parenthesis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of parenthesis | A clause, phrase or word which is inserted (usually for explanation or amplification) into a passage which is already grammatically complete, and usually marked off with brackets, commas or dashes. |
Where the eye mixes parentheses and parenthesis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: parentheses vs parenthesis
A purely visual mix-up. parentheses (/pəˈɹɛnθəsiːz/) and parenthesis (/pəˈɹɛnθəsɪs/) 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 a single letter - e in “parentheses” becomes i in “parenthesis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parentheses is recorded at frequency rank #24,539, classified as anoun, pronounced /pəˈɹɛnθəsiːz/. parenthesis is at rank #45,571, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəˈɹɛnθəsɪs/.
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 70110, this pair ranks #51,887 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of parentheses vs parenthesis
Shared letters: aehnprst. Private to "parentheses": -. Private to "parenthesis": i.
"parentheses" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC · "parenthesis" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- parentheses ← aprentheses · paerntheses · parenhteses · parenntheses · parentehses · parentheess · parenthesess · parenthesse
- parenthesis ← aprenthesis · paernthesis · parenhtesis · parennthesis · parentehsis · parentheiss · parenthesiss · parenthessi
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "parentheses" for "parenthesis" ever safe?
Which is more common, "parentheses" or "parenthesis"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "parentheses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "parenthesis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,887 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #51,887 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.