Which to use
“count” is a verb and “county” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,557
- “count” frequency rank
- #650
- “county” frequency rank
- 2207
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | count | county |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To recite numbers in sequence. | The land ruled by a count or a countess. |
Where the eye mixes count and county
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between count and county
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: count is /kaʊnt/ while county is /ˈkaʊnti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “count” sits inside “county”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
count is recorded at frequency rank #1,557, classified as averb, pronounced /kaʊnt/. county is at rank #650, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaʊnti/.
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 2207, this pair ranks #525,587 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of count vs county
Shared letters: cnotu. Private to "count": -. Private to "county": y.
"count" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "county" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "count" and "county" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "count" or "county" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "count" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "county" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #525,587 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "count" and "county" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "count vs courant". 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 #525,587 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.