Which to use
“notary” is a noun and “notify” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,152
- “notary” frequency rank
- #10,734
- “notify” frequency rank
- 35886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | notary | notify |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A lawyer of noncontentious private civil law who drafts, takes, and records legal instruments for private parties, and provides legal advice, but does not appear in court on his or her clients' behalf. | To give (someone) notice (of some event). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set notary and notify apart are highlighted. They share 4 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: notary is /ˈnoʊtəɹi/ while notify is /ˈnoʊtɪfaɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
notary is recorded at frequency rank #25,152, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈnoʊtəɹi/. notify is at rank #10,734, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈnoʊtɪfaɪ/.
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 35886, this pair ranks #308,065 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of notary vs notify
Shared letters: noty. Private to "notary": ar. Private to "notify": fi.
"notary" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "notify" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "notary" and "notify" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "notary" or "notify"?
Remembering notary vs notify
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “notary”; for a verb, it's “notify”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “notary” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable