Which to use
“fairly” is an adverb and “fairway” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,994
- “fairly” frequency rank
- #31,551
- “fairway” frequency rank
- 34545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fairly | fairway |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a fair manner; fair; not biased or skewed or favouring a certain party | The area between the tee and the green, where the grass is cut short. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fairly and fairway apart are highlighted. They share 5 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: fairly is /ˈfɛə(ɹ).li/ while fairway is /ˈfɛɹweɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fairly is recorded at frequency rank #2,994, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈfɛə(ɹ).li/. fairway is at rank #31,551, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɛɹweɪ/.
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 34545, this pair ranks #319,892 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fairly vs fairway
Shared letters: afiry. Private to "fairly": l. Private to "fairway": w.
"fairly" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "fairway" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fairly" and "fairway" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fairly" or "fairway"?
Remembering fairly vs fairway
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “fairly”; for a noun, it's “fairway”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fairly” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable