you'revsyourWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: you're is a contraction, your is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“you're” is a contraction and “your” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,460
“you're” frequency rank
#2,918
“your” frequency rank
13378
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature you're your
Definition contração de you are seu(s), sua(s), teu(s), tua(s), vosso(s), vossa(s)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set you're and your apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
you're
4 ch
your

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: you're is /jɔː(ɹ)/ , /jʊə(ɹ)/ while your is /joʊɹ/, /jɔːɹ/. 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 (contraction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

you're is recorded at frequency rank #10,460, classified as acontraction, pronounced /jɔː(ɹ)/ , /jʊə(ɹ)/. your is at rank #2,918, tagged as apron, pronounced /joʊɹ/, /jɔːɹ/.

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 13378, this pair ranks #58,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of you're vs your

Shared letters: oruy. Private to "you're": e. Private to "your": -.

"you're" · 5 letters · shape VVVCV  ·  "your" · 4 letters · shape VVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • youroyur · yoru · yourr · yuor · yyour

Frequency comparison

you're#10,460
your#2,918

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "you're" and "your" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "you're" is a contraction and "your" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "you're" or "your"?
"your" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,918 in our Portuguese list, against #10,460 for "you're". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering you're vs your

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “you're”; for a pronoun, it's “your”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “you're” 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