general vs generally, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“general” is an adjective and “generally” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#320
“general” frequency rank: #1,186
“generally” frequency rank: 1506
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	general	generally
Definition	Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.	Popularly or widely.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set general and generally apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

general

9 ch

generally

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

general and generally 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 2 extra letter(s) - “general” sits inside “generally” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

general is recorded at frequency rank #320, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/. generally is at rank #1,186, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹə.li/.

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 1506, this pair ranks #527,289 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

general#320

generally#1,186

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "general" and "generally" be used interchangeably?

No, "general" and "generally" 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 general vs generally

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “general”; for an adverb, it's “generally”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “general” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable