Tears or Tares: Meaning, Difference, and Correct Usage

Sometimes two English words look almost identical but have completely different meanings. 

Tears or tares is one such confusing pair. Both words contain the same letters, but their meanings, uses, and origins are different. 

This can make the choice difficult, especially for English learners, writers, and anyone who encounters the less common word “tares.”

The word tears is very common. It can describe drops from the eyes when someone cries, or it can be the plural of “tear,” meaning rips or breaks in something. 

The word tares, however, is much less common. It can refer to certain weeds or vetch plants, and it can also be the plural form of “tare” in the sense of container weight.

People often search for tears or tares because the words look and sometimes sound similar. Knowing the meaning behind each spelling makes the difference easy to understand. 

This guide explains their meanings, origins, spelling, pronunciation, everyday uses, common mistakes, and the situations where each word is appropriate.

Tears or Tares Quick Answer

Tears and tares are both correct English words, but they do not mean the same thing.

Tears

Tears is the plural of tear. It can refer to:

• Drops that come from your eyes when you cry
• Rips or holes in something
• The third-person singular form of the verb “tear” in some contexts

Examples:

• She had tears in her eyes
• The tears in his shirt were easy to repair
• This paper tears easily

Tares

Tares is the plural of tare. It can refer to certain plants or weeds, especially those associated with grain fields. It can also be the third-person singular form of the verb tare, meaning to determine or adjust for the weight of a container.

Examples:

• The farmer removed the tares from the field
• The scale tares before the product is weighed

So, the simple rule is:

Tears = crying or rips.
Tares = plants/weeds or a weighing term.

The Origin of Tears or Tares

The words tears and tares have different histories. Their similar spelling is a coincidence rather than evidence that they are different regional spellings.

The word tear, meaning a drop from the eye, comes from Old English tear or teor. 

Its history can be traced further through Proto-Germanic and an ancient Indo-European root connected with the word for “tear.”

The verb tear, meaning to rip or pull something apart, has a separate origin. It comes from Old English teran, meaning to pull apart or lacerate. 

Thus, even the two main meanings of “tear” have different historical roots.

The word tare, referring to a plant, dates to Middle English, around the 13th or 14th century. 

Its exact origin is uncertain, although it may be related to older Germanic words connected with wheat or grain. 

It was also used in older English Bible translations for a weed growing among crops.

There is another tare meaning related to weight. This word entered English through French and Italian and ultimately traces back to Arabic, with a meaning connected to something deducted or rejected. 

In modern English, tare weight means the weight of a container or packaging that is deducted to find the net weight.

Therefore, the spelling difference exists because these words developed from different linguistic roots.

British English vs American English Spelling

Unlike spelling pairs such as colour/color or centre/center, tears and tares do not have different British and American spellings.

Both British English and American English use:

• tears
• tares

The important difference is meaning and context, not geography.

Word	British English	American English	Main Meaning
tears	Tears	Tears	Crying drops or rips
tares	Tares	Tares	Plants/weeds or weighing term

For example, both British and American writers can say:

• Her tears fell onto the page
• The old shirt had several tears
• The farmer removed the tares from the crop
• The scale automatically tares the container

There is therefore no need to change tears to tares, or vice versa, based on whether your audience is American or British.

Which Spelling Should You Use?

Choose the word according to meaning, not according to the country of your audience.

For a US audience

Use tears when you mean crying or rips.

Use tares when discussing plants, weeds, biblical language, or weighing equipment.

For a UK or Commonwealth audience

The same rule applies. British English does not require a different spelling.

For example:

• The child was crying tears
• The fabric has two tears
• The farmer noticed tares growing among the wheat

For a global audience

Tears will usually be the word you need because it is much more common in everyday English.

Use tares only when your context specifically concerns its meanings, such as agriculture, biblical writing, or weighing.

The key question is not “Which country am I writing for?” but “What do I mean?”

Common Mistakes with Tears or Tares

Because these words look similar, writers sometimes choose the wrong one.

Mistake 1: Using “tares” for crying

❌ She wiped the tares from her eyes.

✅ She wiped the tears from her eyes.

When talking about crying, always use tears.

Mistake 2: Using “tares” for ripped material

❌ There were several tares in the old jacket.

✅ There were several tears in the old jacket.

A rip or damaged opening is a tear, with the plural tears.

Mistake 3: Using “tears” for weeds

❌ The farmer removed the tears from the wheat field.

✅ The farmer removed the tares from the wheat field.

When referring to the plant or weed, tares is correct.

Mistake 4: Treating them as regional spellings

❌ Tares is the British spelling of tears.

✅ Tears and tares are different words with different meanings.

British and American English use both spellings.

Mistake 5: Ignoring the meaning of “tare” in weighing

In technical or commercial writing, tare can refer to the weight of an empty container. The word is also used as a verb related to adjusting a scale for that weight.

Tears or Tares in Everyday Examples

Seeing the words in context makes the difference much easier to remember.

In Emails

Tears:

I read your message with tears in my eyes.

Tares:

Please check the scale settings and make sure the container has been tared correctly.

The first sentence concerns emotion. The second concerns weighing.

In News Writing

Tears:

The announcement brought tears to the audience.

Tares:

Farmers are working to control tares growing among the grain.

The correct word depends entirely on the subject.

In Social Media

Tears:

That movie had me in tears!

Tares:

The article explains how tares can grow among grain crops.

“Tears” is far more likely in casual social media because emotional language is common.

In Formal Writing

Tears:

The witness spoke through tears during the interview.

Tares:

The study examined the effects of weeds, including tares, on grain production.

In Religious Writing

Tares may appear in discussions of the biblical Parable of the Tares, where the word is traditionally used for weeds growing among wheat.

For example:

The parable describes wheat growing alongside tares.

Here, tares is clearly the correct word.

Tears or Tares Google Trends & Usage Data

Search interest for these two words is not equal. Tears is a common everyday English word, while tares is a specialized and comparatively rare term.

“Tears” appears in many ordinary contexts, including emotions, songs, films, literature, news, personal writing, and descriptions of physical damage. 

It can also appear as part of common phrases such as in tears and tears of joy.

“Tares” has a much narrower range of uses. It is more likely to appear in agricultural, botanical, biblical, historical, or technical contexts. 

Dictionaries identify tares as the plural of tare, which can refer to plants as well as a weighing term.

Exact Google Trends interest can change over time and varies by search term, country, and search intent. 

Therefore, it is better to view the difference as a usage pattern rather than a fixed percentage.

In practical writing, tears is overwhelmingly more familiar to general readers, while tares usually needs a specific context to make its meaning clear.

Comparison Table Tears vs Tares

Feature	Tears	Tares
Base word	Tear	Tare
Common meaning	Drops from the eyes	Plants/weeds
Other meaning	Rips or damage	Weight adjustment
Part of speech	Noun / verb form	Noun / verb form
Everyday use	Very common	Uncommon
Agricultural use	Unusual	Common in specific contexts
Religious use	Possible	Common in specific biblical contexts
Technical use	Limited	Used in weighing
British spelling	Tears	Tares
American spelling	Tears	Tares

FAQs About Tears or Tares

1. Are “tears” and “tares” the same word?

No. Tears and tares are different words. Tears can mean drops from the eyes or rips, while tares can refer to certain plants or a weighing term.

2. Is “tares” a correct English word?

Yes. Tares is a valid English word. It can be the plural of tare, and it can also be the third-person singular form of the verb tare.

3. Does “tares” mean crying?

No. When you mean drops from someone’s eyes, use tears.

Correct:

She cried tears of happiness.

4. Does “tears” mean rips?

Yes. Tears can be the plural of tear, meaning a rip or damaged opening.

Example:

The jeans had several tears.

5. Is “tares” the British spelling of “tears”?

No. These are not British and American spelling variants. Both British and American English use tears and tares.

6. What are tares in the Bible?

In the Bible, tares refers to weeds growing among crops in the Parable of the Tares. The term is traditionally associated with the weeds in the parable.

7. How can I remember the difference?

Use this simple memory tip:

Tears = eyes or rips.
Tares = plants or weighing.

If someone is crying, use tears. If you are discussing weeds in a field or the weight of a container, tares may be correct.

Conclusion

The difference between tears or tares becomes simple once you focus on meaning. Tears is the common word used for drops from the eyes and for rips or damaged areas. 

It appears frequently in everyday conversations, emails, news stories, books, and social media.

Tares, in contrast, is a much less common word. It can refer to certain plants or weeds, especially those associated with grain fields. 

It can also be the plural or verb form connected with tare, a term used in weighing and measurement.

There is no British-versus-American spelling issue here. Both varieties of English use tears and tares. The correct choice depends entirely on what you want to say.

If you mean crying or ripping, choose tears. If you mean certain weeds, agricultural plants, or a weighing process, choose tares. 

Remembering this simple difference will help you avoid one of the easiest word-choice mistakes in English.