Which to use
“yak” is a noun and “yrs” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,962
- “yak” frequency rank
- #14,675
- “yrs” frequency rank
- 39637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | yak | yrs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Tibet with dark, long, and silky hair, a horse-like tail, and a full, bushy mane. | Abbreviation of yours (when signing a letter). |
Letter map: yak vs yrs
Shared letters muted; letters that set yak and yrs apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Role in the sentence - yak and yrs
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: yak is anoun and yrsapronoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
yak is recorded at frequency rank #24,962, classified as anoun, pronounced /jæk/. yrs is at rank #14,675, tagged as apron.
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 39637, this pair ranks #274,866 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of yak vs yrs
Shared letters: y. Private to "yak": ak. Private to "yrs": rs.
"yak" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "yrs" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "yak" for "yrs" ever safe?
Which is more common, "yak" or "yrs"?
What to do next
You've compared "yak" and "yrs". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "yak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "yrs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #274,866 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "yak" and "yrs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "yak vs Yau". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #274,866 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.