English homophones
dependant/dependent
"dependent" (#4,440 written frequency) beats "dependant" (#31,133) in this 2-word /dɪˈpɛndənt/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /dɪˈpɛndənt/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "dependent" leads at #4,440, with "dependant" trailing at #31,133.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "depend" then splits - "dependant" (9 letters) vs "dependent" (9).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across dependant, dependent: denpt. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
dependant
9 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVCVCCVCC
Inventory adenpt · private a
dependent
9 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVCVCCVCC
Inventory denpt · no private letters vs siblings
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "dependant" when you mean: Obsolete spelling of dependent.
- Write "dependent" when you mean: Relying upon; depending upon.
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (dependant, dependent). Here's where to go from here.
- "dependent" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #4,440 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: Derek · derrick. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "dependant, dependent" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.