# repay vs reply

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### repay
*verb · IPA /ɹiˈpeɪ/ · frequency rank #11,953*
Synonym of pay back in all senses.

### reply
*verb · IPA /ɹɪˈplaɪ/ · frequency rank #3,020*
To give a written or spoken response, especially to a question, request, accusation or criticism; to answer.

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