Which to use
“always” and “away” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #167
- “always” frequency rank
- #214
- “away” frequency rank
- 381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | always | away |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning. | From a place, hence. |
Where the eye mixes always and away
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. always (/ˈɔːl.weɪz/) and away (/əˈweɪ/) 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 381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
always is recorded at frequency rank #167, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈɔːl.weɪz/. away is at rank #214, tagged as anadv, pronounced /əˈweɪ/.
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 381, this pair ranks #529,513 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of always vs away
Shared letters: awy. Private to "always": ls. Private to "away": -.
"always" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "away" · 4 letters · shape VCVV