Which to use
“narrow” is an adjective and “narrowly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,707
- “narrow” frequency rank
- #12,109
- “narrowly” frequency rank
- 15816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | narrow | narrowly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth. | In a narrow manner; without flexibility or latitude. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set narrow and narrowly apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: narrow is /ˈnæɹ.əʊ/ while narrowly is /ˈnɛɹoʊli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “narrow” sits inside “narrowly”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
narrow is recorded at frequency rank #3,707, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈnæɹ.əʊ/. narrowly is at rank #12,109, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈnɛɹoʊli/.
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 15816, this pair ranks #461,620 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of narrow vs narrowly
Shared letters: anorw. Private to "narrow": -. Private to "narrowly": ly.
"narrow" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "narrowly" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "narrow" and "narrowly" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "narrow" or "narrowly"?
Remembering narrow vs narrowly
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “narrow”; for an adverb, it's “narrowly”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “narrow” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable