yatesvsyesConfusable pair

Quick tell: yates is a noun, yes is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“yates” is a noun and “yes” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,995
“yates” frequency rank
#14,741
“yes” frequency rank
38736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature yates yes
Definition Forma del plural de yate. Sí.

Where the eye mixes yates and yes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. yates runs 5 letters (VVCVC) against yes's 3 (VVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
yates
3 ch
yes

Visual trap between yates and yes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: yates is [ˈʝat̪es] 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

yates is recorded at frequency rank #23,995, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝat̪es]. yes is at rank #14,741, tagged as anadv, 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 38736, this pair ranks #168,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

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?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "yates" is a noun and "yes" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "yates" or "yes"?
"yes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,741 in our Spanish list, against #23,995 for "yates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 #168,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "yates" and "yes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "yates vs yuanes". 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 #168,357 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list