valleysvsvaluesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“valleys” and “values” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,347
“valleys” frequency rank
#2,186
“values” frequency rank
14533
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature valleys values
Definition plural of valley plural of value

Where the eye mixes valleys and values

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
valleys
6 ch
values

Look-alike desk: valleys vs values

A purely visual mix-up. valleys (/ˈvæliz/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

valleys is recorded at frequency rank #12,347, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈvæliz/. 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 14533, this pair ranks #469,449 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of valleys vs values

Shared letters: aelsv. Private to "valleys": y. Private to "values": u.

"valleys" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "values" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valleysavlleys · valelys · valeys · vallesy · valleyss · valleyys · vallyes · vlaleys
  • valuesavlues · valeus · vallues · valuess · valuse · vaules · vlaues · vvalues

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "valleys" for "values" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈvæliz/ versus /ˈvæljuːz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "valleys" or "values"?
"values" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,186 in our English list, against #12,347 for "valleys". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "valleys" 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 #469,449 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "valleys" and "values" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Valdes vs valleys". 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 #469,449 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list