Which to use
“boys” is a noun and “by” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,984
- “boys” frequency rank
- #2,381
- “by” frequency rank
- 15365
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | boys | by |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de boy. | A, en. |
Where the eye mixes boys and by
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses boys with by
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: boys is /bɔɪz/ while by is [bɛi]. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
boys is recorded at frequency rank #12,984, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɔɪz/. by is at rank #2,381, tagged as aprep, pronounced [bɛi].
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 15365, this pair ranks #280,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of boys vs by
Shared letters: by. Private to "boys": os. Private to "by": -.
"boys" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "by" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- boys ← bboys · bosy · boyss · boyys · byos · obys · voys
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "boys" for "by" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "boys" or "by" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "boys" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "by" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #280,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "boys" and "by" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Boyer vs boys". 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 #280,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.