Which to use
“cat” and “cats” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,740
- “cat” frequency rank
- #31,281
- “cats” frequency rank
- 39021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cat | cats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gato (Felis catus) | plural de cat |
Where the eye mixes cat and cats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cat vs cats
A purely visual mix-up. cat (/kʰaʰt̪/) and cats (/kæts/) 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) - “cat” sits inside “cats”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cat is recorded at frequency rank #7,740, classified as anoun, pronounced /kʰaʰt̪/. cats is at rank #31,281, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kæts/.
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 39021, this pair ranks #27,338 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cat vs cats
Shared letters: act. Private to "cat": -. Private to "cats": s.
"cat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cats ← acts · catss · catts · ccats · ctas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cat" and "cats" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cat" vs "cats" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cat" and "cats" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,338 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cat" and "cats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cactus vs cats". 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 #27,338 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.