English homophones
tri/try
"tri" is a noun; "try" is a verb - grammar picks the spelling, not sound. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Grammar picks the spelling
Same sound, different grammar: "tri" arrives as a noun, while "try" is a verb. Once the sentence role is fixed, only one spelling fits.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Single-letter fork: "tri" keeps i, "try" writes y at letter 3.
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across tri, try: rt. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
tri
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CCV
Inventory irt · private i
try
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CCV
Inventory rty · private y
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "tri" when you mean: triathlon
- Write "try" when you mean: To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (tri, try). Here's where to go from here.
- "try" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #299 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: tiered · teared. Nearby cluster
- Grammar often disambiguates this cluster, match the meaning to the part of speech before picking a spelling. Pick by meaning
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.