Which to use
“Cathay” is a name and “catty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,846
- “Cathay” frequency rank
- #49,246
- “catty” frequency rank
- 87092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Cathay | catty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | China, specifically medieval northern China as reached by the overland Silk Road to Xi'an or Beijing, not known at the time to be related to southern China as reached by the maritime routes to Guangzhou. | With subtle hostility in an effort to hurt, annoy, or upset, particularly among women. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Cathay and catty apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Cathay is /kæˈθeɪ/ while catty is /ˈkæti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Cathay is recorded at frequency rank #37,846, classified as aname, pronounced /kæˈθeɪ/. catty is at rank #49,246, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkæti/.
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 87092, this pair ranks #8,085 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Cathay vs catty
Shared letters: acty. Private to "Cathay": h. Private to "catty": -.
"Cathay" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "catty" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Cathay" and "catty" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Cathay" or "catty"?
Remembering Cathay vs catty
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Cathay”; for an adjective, it's “catty”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Cathay” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable