conveyvscoveyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: convey is a verb, covey is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“convey” is a verb and “covey” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,155
“convey” frequency rank
#46,402
“covey” frequency rank
55557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature convey covey
Definition To move (something) from one place to another. A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set convey and covey apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
convey
5 ch
covey

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

convey and covey form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

convey is recorded at frequency rank #9,155, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈveɪ/. covey is at rank #46,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʌvi/.

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 55557, this pair ranks #132,727 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

convey#9,155
covey#46,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "convey" and "covey" be used interchangeably?
No, "convey" and "covey" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering convey vs covey

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “convey”; for a noun, it's “covey”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “convey” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list