# phage vs plague

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### phage
*noun · IPA /feɪd͡ʒ/ · frequency rank #43,841*
A virus that is parasitic on bacteria.

### plague
*noun · IPA /pleɪɡ/ · frequency rank #8,468*
The bubonic plague, the pestilent disease caused by the virulent bacterium Yersinia pestis.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/phage-vs-plague