Which to use
“Yates” is a name and “yes” is a particle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,554
- “Yates” frequency rank
- #301
- “yes” frequency rank
- 15855
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Yates | yes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname. | Used to show agreement or acceptance. |
Where the eye mixes Yates and yes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Yates and yes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Yates is /jeɪts/ while yes is /jɛs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs particle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Yates is recorded at frequency rank #15,554, classified as aname, pronounced /jeɪts/. yes is at rank #301, tagged as aparticle, pronounced /jɛs/.
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 15855, this pair ranks #461,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Yates vs yes
Shared letters: esy. Private to "Yates": at. Private to "yes": -.
"Yates" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "yes" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Yates ← aytes · yaets · yatess · yatse · yattes · ytaes · yyates
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Yates" and "yes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Yates" or "yes"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Yates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "yes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #461,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Yates" and "yes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "yat vs Yates". 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 #461,365 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.