comethvscovetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,439
“cometh” frequency rank
#36,095
“covet” frequency rank
70534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cometh covet
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of come To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cometh and covet apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cometh
5 ch
covet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cometh (/ˈkʌm.əθ/) and covet (/ˈkʌvɪt/) 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 70534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cometh is recorded at frequency rank #34,439, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkʌm.əθ/. covet is at rank #36,095, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkʌvɪt/.

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 70534, this pair ranks #50,189 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cometh vs covet

Shared letters: ceot. Private to "cometh": hm. Private to "covet": v.

"cometh" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "covet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • comethccometh · cmoeth · coemth · comeht · comethh · cometth · commeth · comteh
  • covetccovet · coevt · covett · covte · covvet · cvoet · ocvet

Frequency comparison

cometh#34,439
covet#36,095

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cometh" and "covet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkʌm.əθ/ versus /ˈkʌvɪt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cometh" or "covet"?
"cometh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,439 in our English list, against #36,095 for "covet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cometh vs covet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cometh” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list