Which to use
“spies” and “spite” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,297
- “spies” frequency rank
- #6,741
- “spite” frequency rank
- 18038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spies | spite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of spy | Ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the desire to unjustifiably irritate, annoy, or thwart; a want to disturb or put out another; mild malice |
Where the eye mixes spies and spite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between spies and spite
A purely visual mix-up. spies (/spaɪz/) and spite (/spaɪt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spies is recorded at frequency rank #11,297, classified as anoun, pronounced /spaɪz/. spite is at rank #6,741, tagged as anoun, pronounced /spaɪt/.
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 18038, this pair ranks #447,523 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spies vs spite
Shared letters: eips. Private to "spies": -. Private to "spite": t.
"spies" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "spite" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spies" for "spite" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spies" vs "spite" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #447,523 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spies" and "spite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "SIDS vs spies". 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 #447,523 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.