# sorry vs surly

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sorry
*adjective · IPA /ˈsɒɹ.i/ · frequency rank #682*
Regretful or apologetic for one's actions.

### surly
*adjective · IPA /ˈsɜːli/ · frequency rank #35,102*
Irritated, bad-tempered, unfriendly.

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