Which to use
“covey” is a noun and “cower” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,402
- “covey” frequency rank
- #49,846
- “cower” frequency rank
- 96248
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | covey | cower |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus). | To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set covey and cower apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: covey is /ˈkʌvi/ while cower is /ˈkaʊɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
covey is recorded at frequency rank #46,402, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʌvi/. cower is at rank #49,846, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkaʊɚ/.
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 96248, this pair ranks #610 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of covey vs cower
Shared letters: ceo. Private to "covey": vy. Private to "cower": rw.
"covey" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "cower" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "covey" and "cower" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "covey" or "cower"?
Remembering covey vs cower
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “covey”; for a verb, it's “cower”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “covey” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable