YoungsvsyouthsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Youngs is a name, youths is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Youngs” is a name and “youths” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,155
“Youngs” frequency rank
#12,894
“youths” frequency rank
62049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Youngs youths
Definition A surname. plural of youth

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Youngs
6 ch
youths

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Youngs is aname and youthsanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Youngs is recorded at frequency rank #49,155, classified as aname. 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 62049, this pair ranks #90,647 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Youngs vs youths

Shared letters: osuy. Private to "Youngs": gn. Private to "youths": ht.

"Youngs" · 6 letters · shape VVVCCC  ·  "youths" · 6 letters · shape VVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Youngsoyungs · yonugs · yougns · younggs · youngss · younngs · younsg · yuongs
  • youthsoyuths · yotuhs · youhts · youthhs · youthss · youtsh · youtths · yuoths

Frequency comparison

Youngs#49,155
youths#12,894

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Youngs" and "youths" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Youngs" is a name and "youths" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Youngs" or "youths"?
"youths" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,894 in our English list, against #49,155 for "Youngs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Youngs vs youths

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Youngs”; for a noun, it's “youths”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Youngs” 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