Which to use
“literal” is an adjective and “literally” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,077
- “literal” frequency rank
- #1,311
- “literally” frequency rank
- 11388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | literal | literally |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Exactly as stated; read or understood without interpretation; according to the letter; not figurative or metaphorical; following the letter or exact words; not taking liberties; etymonic rather than idiomatic. | Word for word, exactly as stated. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set literal and literally apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
literal and literally 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) - “literal” sits inside “literally” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
literal is recorded at frequency rank #10,077, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/. literally is at rank #1,311, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈlɪtəɹəli/.
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 11388, this pair ranks #487,324 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "literal" and "literally" be used interchangeably?
Remembering literal vs literally
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “literal”; for an adverb, it's “literally”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “literal” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable