Which to use
“memory” is a noun and “merry” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,641
- “memory” frequency rank
- #9,210
- “merry” frequency rank
- 10851
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | memory | merry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will. | Jolly and full of high spirits; happy. |
Where the eye mixes memory and merry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: memory vs merry
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: memory is /ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/ while merry is /ˈmɛ.ɹi/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
memory is recorded at frequency rank #1,641, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/. merry is at rank #9,210, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmɛ.ɹi/.
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 10851, this pair ranks #490,194 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of memory vs merry
Shared letters: emry. Private to "memory": o. Private to "merry": -.
"memory" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "merry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "memory" for "merry" ever safe?
Frequency check: "memory" vs "merry" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "memory" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "merry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #490,194 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "memory" and "merry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merry vs myrrh". 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 #490,194 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.