The correct plural of “life” is “lives,” not “lifes.” According to Merriam-Webster, “life” follows an irregular pattern shared by other words ending in “-fe” — you drop the “-fe” and add “-ves.” “Lifes” isn’t a recognized English word.
Why “Life” Doesn’t Follow the Regular Rule
Most English nouns simply add an “-s” to become plural (cat → cats, book → books). But a group of nouns ending in “-f” or “-fe” break that pattern by swapping the ending for “-ves” instead. “Life” is one of them.
Other Words That Follow the Same Pattern
- knife → knives
- wife → wives
- leaf → leaves
- half → halves
- shelf → shelves
Examples in Context
- ✅ “She has lived several lives in one lifetime.”
- ❌ “She has lived several lifes in one lifetime.”
- ✅ “Their lives changed overnight.”
Why This Slip Is So Common
Irregular plurals like this one don’t follow any obvious spelling rule, so it’s easy to default to just adding an “-s.” A grammar checker Chrome extension like TypoGuard flags irregular plural mistakes like this instantly, so you never have to memorize every exception yourself.
Want to stop guessing? Install TypoGuard for free and write with confidence, irregular plurals included.
