Which to use
“ok” is a num and “okay” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #603
- “ok” frequency rank
- #937
- “okay” frequency rank
- 1540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ok | okay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | acht (8) | in Ordnung; ohne, dass etwas zu beklagen wäre |
Where the eye mixes ok and okay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ok vs okay
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ok is [ɔk] while okay is [oˈkeː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ok” sits inside “okay”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ok is recorded at frequency rank #603, classified as anum, pronounced [ɔk]. okay is at rank #937, tagged as anadj, pronounced [oˈkeː].
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 1540, this pair ranks #2,004,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ok vs okay
Shared letters: ko. Private to "ok": -. Private to "okay": ay.
"ok" · 2 letters · shape VC · "okay" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- okay ← koay · oaky · okayy · okkay · okya
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ok" for "okay" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ok" vs "okay" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ok" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "okay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ok" and "okay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "OGH vs ok". 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 #2,004,161 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.