PiscesvsprincesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Pisces is a name, princes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Pisces” is a name and “princes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,537
“Pisces” frequency rank
#11,443
“princes” frequency rank
41980
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pisces princes
Definition A constellation of the zodiac traditionally figured as a pair of fish with their tails tied by a ribbon. plural of prince

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Pisces and princes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Pisces
7 ch
princes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Pisces is /ˈpaɪsiːz/ while princes is /ˈpɹɪnsɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pisces is recorded at frequency rank #30,537, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈpaɪsiːz/. princes is at rank #11,443, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɪnsɪz/.

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 41980, this pair ranks #253,380 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pisces vs princes

Shared letters: ceips. Private to "Pisces": -. Private to "princes": nr.

"Pisces" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "princes" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Piscesipsces · picses · piscces · piscess · piscse · pisecs · pissces · ppisces
  • princespirnces · pprinces · pricnes · princces · princse · prinecs · prinnces · prnices

Frequency comparison

Pisces#30,537
princes#11,443

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pisces" and "princes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Pisces" is a name and "princes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Pisces" or "princes"?
"princes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,443 in our English list, against #30,537 for "Pisces". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Pisces vs princes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Pisces”; for a noun, it's “princes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Pisces” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list