carefully
/ˈkɛːf(ə)li/
"carefully" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“carefully” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,214 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #3,214
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sorrowfully.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | carefully |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈkɛːf(ə)li/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #3,214 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “carefully” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for carefully is 9 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɛːf(ə)li/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,214 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for carefully, with forms such as "acrefully", "caerfully", and "careffully". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "careful", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English carfulli, carefulliche, from Old English carfullīċe, ċearfullīċe (“carefully, diligently”), equivalent to careful + -ly. The correct English form is carefully, spelled C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Sorrowfully.
- 2With care; attentively, circumspectly.
- 3Conscientiously, painstakingly, fastidiously, meticulously
Etymology
From Middle English carfulli, carefulliche, from Old English carfullīċe, ċearfullīċe (“carefully, diligently”), equivalent to careful + -ly.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acrefully,caerfully,careffully,carefluly,carefullyy,carefuly,carefulyl,careuflly,carfeully,carrefully,ccarefully,craefully
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of carefully - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “carefully”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɛːf(ə)li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “careful” - see the side-by-side comparison. carefully vs careful
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.