turkeyvsturnerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“turkey” and “turner” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,706
“turkey” frequency rank
#5,279
“turner” frequency rank
7985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature turkey turner
Definition The guinea fowl (family Numididae). One who or that which turns.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set turkey and turner apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
turkey
6 ch
turner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. turkey (/ˈtɜːki/) and turner (/ˈtɝ.nɚ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

turkey is recorded at frequency rank #2,706, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɜːki/. turner is at rank #5,279, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɝ.nɚ/.

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 7985, this pair ranks #504,645 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of turkey vs turner

Shared letters: ertu. Private to "turkey": ky. Private to "turner": n.

"turkey" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "turner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • turkeytrukey · tturkey · tukrey · tureky · turkeyy · turkkey · turkye · turrkey
  • turnertruner · tturner · tunrer · turenr · turnerr · turnner · turnre · turrner

Frequency comparison

turkey#2,706
turner#5,279

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "turkey" and "turner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtɜːki/ versus /ˈtɝ.nɚ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "turkey" or "turner"?
"turkey" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,706 in our English list, against #5,279 for "turner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering turkey vs turner

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “turkey” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list