Which to use
“savory” is an adjective and “savour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,075
- “savory” frequency rank
- #38,147
- “savour” frequency rank
- 67222
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | savory | savour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tasty, attractive to the palate. | An aroma or smell. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set savory and savour 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: savory is /ˈseɪ.və.ɹi/ while savour is /ˈseɪvə/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67222, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
savory is recorded at frequency rank #29,075, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈseɪ.və.ɹi/. savour is at rank #38,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈseɪvə/.
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 67222, this pair ranks #64,345 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of savory vs savour
Shared letters: aorsv. Private to "savory": y. Private to "savour": u.
"savory" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "savour" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "savory" and "savour" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "savory" or "savour"?
Remembering savory vs savour
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “savory”; for a noun, it's “savour”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “savory” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable