codevscovenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“code” and “coven” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#863
“code” frequency rank
#28,883
“coven” frequency rank
29746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature code coven
Definition A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents. A nunnery, a convent

Where the eye mixes code and coven

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
code
5 ch
coven

Visual trap between code and coven

A purely visual mix-up. code (/kəʊd/) and coven (/ˈkʌv.ən/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

code is recorded at frequency rank #863, classified as anoun, pronounced /kəʊd/. coven is at rank #28,883, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʌv.ən/.

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 29746, this pair ranks #360,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of code vs coven

Shared letters: ceo. Private to "code": d. Private to "coven": nv.

"code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "coven" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • codeccode · cdoe · codde · ocde
  • covenccoven · coevn · covenn · covne · covven · cvoen · ocven

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "code" and "coven" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kəʊd/ versus /ˈkʌv.ən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "code" or "coven"?
"code" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #863 in our English list, against #28,883 for "coven". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "code" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "coven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #360,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "code" and "coven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coven vs cower". 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 #360,405 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list