invitevsinvoiceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: invite is a verb, invoice is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“invite” is a verb and “invoice” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,311
“invite” frequency rank
#20,396
“invoice” frequency rank
24707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature invite invoice
Definition To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. A bill; a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer indicating the products, quantities and agreed prices for products or services that the seller has already provided the buyer with. An invoice indicates that, unless paid in advance, payment is due by the buyer to the seller, according to the agreed terms.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set invite and invoice apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
invite
7 ch
invoice

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: invite is /ɪnˈvaɪt/ while invoice is /ˈɪnˌvɔɪs/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

invite is recorded at frequency rank #4,311, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈvaɪt/. invoice is at rank #20,396, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪnˌvɔɪs/.

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 24707, this pair ranks #399,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of invite vs invoice

Shared letters: einv. Private to "invite": t. Private to "invoice": co.

"invite" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "invoice" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • inviteinivte · innvite · inviet · invitte · invtie · invvite · ivnite · nivite
  • invoiceinnvoice · inovice · invioce · invocie · invoicce · invoiec · invvoice · ivnoice

Frequency comparison

invite#4,311
invoice#20,396

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "invite" and "invoice" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "invite" is a verb and "invoice" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "invite" or "invoice"?
"invite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,311 in our English list, against #20,396 for "invoice". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering invite vs invoice

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “invite”; for a noun, it's “invoice”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “invite” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list