Which to use
“ye” is a noun and “yes” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,849
- “ye” frequency rank
- #14,741
- “yes” frequency rank
- 32590
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ye | yes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vigésimo octava letra del alfabeto español, escrita Y o y, junto con la doble ve la única en tener valor tanto de consonante como de vocal. | Sí. |
Where the eye mixes ye and yes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ye and yes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ye is [ˈʝe] while yes is /jɛs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ye” sits inside “yes”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32590, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ye is recorded at frequency rank #17,849, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝe]. 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 32590, this pair ranks #201,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ye vs yes
Shared letters: ey. Private to "ye": -. Private to "yes": s.
"ye" · 2 letters · shape VV · "yes" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ye" for "yes" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ye" or "yes" 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 "ye" 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 #201,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ye" and "yes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ye vs yet". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #201,188 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.