# principal vs principally

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### principal
*adjective · IPA /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ · frequency rank #2,907*
Primary; most important; first level in importance.

### principally
*adverb · frequency rank #17,215*
In a primary manner; pertaining to the principal of a matter.

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