Which to use
“parley” and “parsley” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,678
- “parley” frequency rank
- #20,454
- “parsley” frequency rank
- 67132
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parley | parsley |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A conference, especially one between enemies. | A bright green, biennial herb, Petroselinum crispum, having many cultivars. |
Where the eye mixes parley and parsley
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. parley runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against parsley's 7 (CVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between parley and parsley
A purely visual mix-up. parley (/ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/) and parsley (/ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parley is recorded at frequency rank #46,678, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/. parsley is at rank #20,454, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/.
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 67132, this pair ranks #64,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of parley vs parsley
Shared letters: aelpry. Private to "parley": -. Private to "parsley": s.
"parley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "parsley" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "parley" and "parsley" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "parley" vs "parsley" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "parley" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "parsley" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parley" and "parsley" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parlay vs parley". 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 #64,764 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.