Which to use
“write” and “writes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,008
- “write” frequency rank
- #3,920
- “writes” frequency rank
- 4928
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | write | writes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate. | third-person singular simple present indicative of write |
Where the eye mixes write and writes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses write with writes
A purely visual mix-up. write (/ɹaɪt/) and writes (/ɹaɪts/) 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) - “write” sits inside “writes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
write is recorded at frequency rank #1,008, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹaɪt/. writes is at rank #3,920, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹaɪts/.
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 4928, this pair ranks #517,201 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of write vs writes
Shared letters: eirtw. Private to "write": -. Private to "writes": s.
"write" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "writes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "write" and "writes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "write" vs "writes" - 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 "write" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "writes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #517,201 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "write" and "writes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wile vs write". 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 #517,201 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.