Which to use
“yes” is a particle and “yup” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #301
- “yes” frequency rank
- #6,537
- “yup” frequency rank
- 6838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | yes | yup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to show agreement or acceptance. | A yes; an affirmative answer. |
Where the eye mixes yes and yup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: yes is /jɛs/ while yup is /jʌp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
yes is recorded at frequency rank #301, classified as aparticle, pronounced /jɛs/. yup is at rank #6,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced /jʌp/.
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 6838, this pair ranks #509,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of yes vs yup
Shared letters: y. Private to "yes": es. Private to "yup": pu.
"yes" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "yup" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "yes" and "yup" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "yes" or "yup"?
What to do next
You've compared "yes" and "yup". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "yes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "yup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #509,745 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "yes" and "yup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Yau vs yup". Nearby pair
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.