worldvsworldsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“world” and “worlds” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,200
“world” frequency rank
#40,083
“worlds” frequency rank
44283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature world worlds
Definition Monde, univers, Terre. Pluriel de world.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set world and worlds apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
world
6 ch
worlds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. world (\ˈwɝld\) and worlds (\ˈwɝldz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “world” sits inside “worlds”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

world is recorded at frequency rank #4,200, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝld\. worlds is at rank #40,083, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝldz\.

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 44283, this pair ranks #211,634 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of world vs worlds

Shared letters: dlorw. Private to "world": -. Private to "worlds": s.

"world" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "worlds" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • worldowrld · wolrd · wordl · worldd · worlld · worrld · wrold · wworld
  • worldsowrlds · wolrds · wordls · worldds · worldss · worllds · worlsd · worrlds

Frequency comparison

world#4,200
worlds#40,083

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "world" and "worlds" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈwɝld\ versus \ˈwɝldz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "world" or "worlds"?
"world" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,200 in our French list, against #40,083 for "worlds". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering world vs worlds

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “world” 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