invitevsinvokeTell them apart

Which to use

“invite” and “invoke” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,311
“invite” frequency rank
#18,863
“invoke” frequency rank
23174
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature invite invoke
Definition To ask for the presence or participation of someone or something. To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance.

Where the eye mixes invite and invoke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
invite
6 ch
invoke

Look-alike desk: invite vs invoke

A purely visual mix-up. invite (/ɪnˈvaɪt/) and invoke (/ɪnˈvoʊk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23174, 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/. invoke is at rank #18,863, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈvoʊk/.

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 23174, this pair ranks #411,225 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of invite vs invoke

Shared letters: einv. Private to "invite": t. Private to "invoke": ko.

"invite" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "invoke" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • inviteinivte · innvite · inviet · invitte · invtie · invvite · ivnite · nivite
  • invokeinnvoke · inovke · invkoe · invoek · invokke · invvoke · ivnoke · nivoke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "invite" for "invoke" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ɪnˈvaɪt/ versus /ɪnˈvoʊk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "invite" vs "invoke" - which ranks higher?
"invite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,311 in our English list, against #18,863 for "invoke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "invite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "invoke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #411,225 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "invite" and "invoke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Inoue vs invoke". 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 #411,225 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list