Which to use
“privately” is an adverb and “privates” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,045
- “privately” frequency rank
- #35,466
- “privates” frequency rank
- 42511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | privately | privates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a private manner. | The genitalia; those body parts that are not normally displayed; private parts. |
Letter map: privately vs privates
Shared letters muted; letters that set privately and privates apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Role in the sentence - privately and privates
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: privately is anadverb and privatesanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
privately is recorded at frequency rank #7,045, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈpɹaɪvɪtli/. privates is at rank #35,466, tagged as anoun.
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 42511, this pair ranks #248,525 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of privately vs privates
Shared letters: aeiprtv. Private to "privately": ly. Private to "privates": s.
"privately" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCVCV · "privates" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "privately" and "privates" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "privately" or "privates" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "privately" and "privates".
- Full dictionary entry for "privately" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "privates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,525 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "privately" and "privates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pilates vs privates". 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 #248,525 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.