# only vs onto

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### only
*adjective · IPA /ˈəʊn.li/ · frequency rank #79*
Alone in a category.

### onto
*preposition · IPA /ˈɒn.tuː/ · frequency rank #1,768*
Arriving upon or on top of (speaking of a physical or metaphorical movement).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/only-vs-onto