you'svsyouthsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: you's is a contraction, youths is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“you's” is a contraction and “youths” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,483
“you's” frequency rank
#12,894
“youths” frequency rank
54377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature you's youths
Definition Contraction of you + is. plural of youth

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set you's and youths apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
you's
6 ch
youths

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: you's is acontraction and youthsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

you's is recorded at frequency rank #41,483, classified as acontraction. youths is at rank #12,894, tagged as anoun, pronounced /juːðz/.

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 54377, this pair ranks #141,545 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of you's vs youths

Shared letters: osuy. Private to "you's": -. Private to "youths": ht.

"you's" · 4 letters · shape VVVC  ·  "youths" · 6 letters · shape VVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • youthsoyuths · yotuhs · youhts · youthhs · youthss · youtsh · youtths · yuoths

Frequency comparison

you's#41,483
youths#12,894

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "you's" and "youths" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "you's" is a contraction and "youths" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "you's" or "youths"?
"youths" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,894 in our English list, against #41,483 for "you's". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering you's vs youths

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “you's”; for a noun, it's “youths”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “you's” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list