jointlyvsjokinglyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,910
“jointly” frequency rank
#23,014
“jokingly” frequency rank
32924
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jointly jokingly
Definition Together, acting as one; collectively. In a joking manner.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set jointly and jokingly apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
jointly
8 ch
jokingly

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. jointly (/ˈd͡ʒɔɪntli/) and jokingly (/ˈdʒoʊ.kɪŋ.li/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jointly is recorded at frequency rank #9,910, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɔɪntli/. jokingly is at rank #23,014, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈdʒoʊ.kɪŋ.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 32924, this pair ranks #333,751 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of jointly vs jokingly

Shared letters: ijlnoy. Private to "jointly": t. Private to "jokingly": gk.

"jointly" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV  ·  "jokingly" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jointlyjiontly · jjointly · joinlty · joinntly · jointlly · jointlyy · jointtly · jointyl
  • jokinglyjjokingly · jkoingly · joikngly · jokignly · jokinggly · jokinglly · jokinglyy · jokingyl

Frequency comparison

jointly#9,910
jokingly#23,014

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "jointly" and "jokingly" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈd͡ʒɔɪntli/ versus /ˈdʒoʊ.kɪŋ.li/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "jointly" or "jokingly"?
"jointly" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,910 in our English list, against #23,014 for "jokingly". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering jointly vs jokingly

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “jointly” 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