Which to use
“tribe” and “tribes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,923
- “tribe” frequency rank
- #6,850
- “tribes” frequency rank
- 12773
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tribe | tribes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An ethnic group larger than a band or clan (and which may contain clans) but smaller than a nation (and which in turn may constitute a nation with other tribes). The tribe is often the basis of ethnic identity. | plural of tribe |
Where the eye mixes tribe and tribes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: tribe vs tribes
A purely visual mix-up. tribe (/tɹaɪb/) and tribes (/tɹaɪbz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “tribe” sits inside “tribes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tribe is recorded at frequency rank #5,923, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɹaɪb/. tribes is at rank #6,850, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɹaɪbz/.
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 12773, this pair ranks #479,646 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tribe vs tribes
Shared letters: beirt. Private to "tribe": -. Private to "tribes": s.
"tribe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "tribes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tribe" for "tribes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tribe" or "tribes"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tribe" and "tribes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tribe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tribes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #479,646 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tribe" and "tribes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tobe vs tribe". 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 #479,646 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.