when's vs where's, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#22,550
“when's” frequency rank: #6,200
“where's” frequency rank: 28750
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	when's	where's
Definition	Contraction of when + is.	Contraction of where + is.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set when's and where's apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

when's

7 ch

where's

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. when's (/wɛnz/) and where's (/wɛə(ɹ)z/) 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 28750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

when's is recorded at frequency rank #22,550, classified as acontraction, pronounced /wɛnz/. where's is at rank #6,200, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /wɛə(ɹ)z/.

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 28750, this pair ranks #368,611 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of when's vs where's

Shared letters: ehsw. Private to "when's": n. Private to "where's": r.

"when's" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "where's" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequency comparison

when's#22,550

where's#6,200

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "when's" and "where's" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/wɛnz/ versus /wɛə(ɹ)z/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "when's" or "where's"?

"where's" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,200 in our English list, against #22,550 for "when's". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering when's vs where's

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “when's” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable