Which to use
“parley” is a noun and “partly” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,678
- “parley” frequency rank
- #4,318
- “partly” frequency rank
- 50996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parley | partly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A conference, especially one between enemies. | In part, or to some degree, but not completely. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set parley and partly apart are highlighted. They share 5 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: parley is /ˈpɑː(ɹ)li/ while partly is /ˈpɑɹtli/. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50996, 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/. partly is at rank #4,318, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈpɑɹtli/.
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 50996, this pair ranks #169,297 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of parley vs partly
Shared letters: alpry. Private to "parley": e. Private to "partly": t.
"parley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "partly" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "parley" and "partly" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "parley" or "partly"?
Remembering parley vs partly
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “parley”; for an adverb, it's “partly”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “parley” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable