Which to use
“behavior” and “behaviour” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,062
- “behavior” frequency rank
- #3,864
- “behaviour” frequency rank
- 5926
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behavior | behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Human conduct relative to social norms. | British standard spelling of behavior. |
Letter map: behavior vs behaviour
Shared letters muted; letters that set behavior and behaviour apart highlighted. Shared run: 8.
Corpus notes: behavior and behaviour
behavior and behaviour are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
behavior is recorded at frequency rank #2,062, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɪˈheɪ.vjə(ɹ)/. behaviour is at rank #3,864, tagged as anoun.
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 5926, this pair ranks #513,472 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of behavior vs behaviour
Shared letters: abehiorv. Private to "behavior": -. Private to "behaviour": u.
"behavior" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "behaviour" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "behavior" and "behaviour" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "behavior" or "behaviour" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "behavior" vs "behaviour" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "behavior" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "behaviour" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #513,472 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "behavior" and "behaviour" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behaviour vs behavioural". 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 #513,472 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.