Which to use
“tally” is an intj and “tilly” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,693
- “tally” frequency rank
- #31,380
- “tilly” frequency rank
- 44073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tally | tilly |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Target sighted. | An extra product given to a customer at no additional charge; a lagniappe. |
Where the eye mixes tally and tilly
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tally and tilly follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses tally with tilly
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tally is /ˈtæli/ while tilly is /ˈtɪli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “tally” becomes i in “tilly”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tally is recorded at frequency rank #12,693, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈtæli/. tilly is at rank #31,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɪli/.
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 44073, this pair ranks #233,964 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tally vs tilly
Shared letters: lty. Private to "tally": a. Private to "tilly": i.
"tally" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tilly" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tally" and "tilly" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tally" vs "tilly" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tally" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tilly" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #233,964 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tally" and "tilly" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tilly vs tulle". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #233,964 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.