# phonetics vs phonics

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### phonetics
*noun · IPA /fəˈnɛt.ɪks/ · frequency rank #48,968*
The study of the physical sounds of human speech, concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds (phones), and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception, and their representation by written symbols.

### phonics
*noun · IPA /ˈfɒnɪks/ · frequency rank #46,693*
The study of how the sounds of words are represented by spelling.

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