Which to use
“valley” and “values” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,974
- “valley” frequency rank
- #2,186
- “values” frequency rank
- 4160
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | valley | values |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An elongated depression cast between hills or mountains, often with a river flowing through it. | plural of value |
Where the eye mixes valley and values
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between valley and values
A purely visual mix-up. valley (/ˈvæli/) and values (/ˈvæljuːz/) 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 4160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
valley is recorded at frequency rank #1,974, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈvæli/. values is at rank #2,186, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvæljuːz/.
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 4160, this pair ranks #519,810 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of valley vs values
Shared letters: aelv. Private to "valley": y. Private to "values": su.
"valley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "values" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "valley" and "values" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "valley" vs "values" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "valley" and "values" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "valley" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "values" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #519,810 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "valley" and "values" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Valdes vs values". 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 #519,810 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.