Which to use
“smokes” is a noun and “smokey” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,132
- “smokes” frequency rank
- #20,500
- “smokey” frequency rank
- 36632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | smokes | smokey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of smoke | Alternative spelling of smoky. |
Letter map: smokes vs smokey
Shared letters muted; letters that set smokes and smokey apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. smokes (CCVCVC) and smokey (CCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - smokes and smokey
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: smokes is anoun and smokeyanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - s in “smokes” becomes y in “smokey”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
smokes is recorded at frequency rank #16,132, classified as anoun, pronounced /sməʊks/. smokey is at rank #20,500, tagged as anadj.
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 36632, this pair ranks #301,520 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of smokes vs smokey
Shared letters: ekmos. Private to "smokes": -. Private to "smokey": y.
"smokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "smokey" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "smokes" for "smokey" ever safe?
Frequency check: "smokes" vs "smokey" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've compared "smokes" and "smokey". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "smokes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "smokey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,520 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "smokes" and "smokey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shoves vs smokes". 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 #301,520 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.