Which to use
“covet” is a verb and “covey” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,095
- “covet” frequency rank
- #46,402
- “covey” frequency rank
- 82497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | covet | covey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously. | 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 eye mixes covet and covey
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. covet (CVCVC) and covey (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: covet vs covey
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: covet is /ˈkʌvɪt/ while covey is /ˈkʌvi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - t in “covet” becomes y in “covey”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
covet is recorded at frequency rank #36,095, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkʌvɪt/. 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 82497, this pair ranks #15,621 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of covet vs covey
Shared letters: ceov. Private to "covet": t. Private to "covey": y.
"covet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "covey" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "covet" and "covey" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "covet" vs "covey" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "covet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "covey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,621 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "covet" and "covey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "covey 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 #15,621 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.