# telephone vs telephony

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### telephone
*noun · IPA /ˈtɛl.ɪˌfəʊn/ · frequency rank #3,587*
A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (now often shortened to phone).

### telephony
*noun · IPA /təˈlɛf.ə.ni/ · frequency rank #33,449*
The act of sound transmission via the electromagnetic spectrum.

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