Which to use
“friend” and “friends” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,896
- “friend” frequency rank
- #7,029
- “friends” frequency rank
- 19925
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | friend | friends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | amigo; amiga | plural de friend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set friend and friends apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. friend (/frɛnd/) and friends (/fɹɛn(d)z/) 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) - “friend” sits inside “friends”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19925, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
friend is recorded at frequency rank #12,896, classified as anoun, pronounced /frɛnd/. friends is at rank #7,029, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɹɛn(d)z/.
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 19925, this pair ranks #50,700 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of friend vs friends
Shared letters: definr. Private to "friend": -. Private to "friends": s.
"friend" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "friends" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "friend" and "friends" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "friend" or "friends"?
Remembering friend vs friends
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 “friend” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable