Which to use
“carry” and “cry” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,021
- “carry” frequency rank
- #21,937
- “cry” frequency rank
- 59958
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | carry | cry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tragen | weinen, heulen |
Where the eye mixes carry and cry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between carry and cry
A purely visual mix-up. carry ([ˈkæɹi]) and cry ([kɹaɪ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
carry is recorded at frequency rank #38,021, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkæɹi]. cry is at rank #21,937, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɹaɪ].
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 59958, this pair ranks #805,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of carry vs cry
Shared letters: cry. Private to "carry": a. Private to "cry": -.
"carry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cry" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- carry ← acrry · carryy · cary · caryr · ccarry · crary
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "carry" and "cry" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "carry" vs "cry" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "carry" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #805,002 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "carry" and "cry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carr vs carry". 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 #805,002 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.