List of commonly confused homonyms

For people who check facts

This is a list of commonly confused homonyms including both homophones – words which have the same pronunciation – and homographs – words which are spelled the same.

Table of contents

1 English
2 Japanese

2.1 See also

English

accept: tolerate
except: everything but
add: put together with
ad: short for "advertisement"
allowed: permitted
aloud: audibly
allot: to distribute, allocate
a lot: much; many (a lot of)
allusion: indirect reference
elusion: evasion
elution: separation by washing
illusion: a distortion of sensory perception
bare: naked, exposed; very little (bare necessities)
bear: as a noun, a large mammal (e.g. American Black Bear); as a verb, to carry something ("to bear arms"), to endure ("I can't bear it"), or to give birth to (bear fruit)
boy: a male adolescent or child; an exclamation "oh boy"
buoy: (noun) a floating marker in the sea; (verb, often "buoy up") to keep afloat, to sustain or encourage (the soldiers were buoyed up by letters from home) (pronounced boy in the UK, but in the US is either homophonous with "boy" or pronounced with two syllables to rhyme with "chewy")
bhoy: a house servant for families in India (borrowed from the English word "boy")
bridal: pertaining to a bride (bridal gown, bridal suite)
bridle: (noun) part of a horse's tack around its neck and head; (verb) to appear offended or proud
capital: punishable by death (capital crime); upper-case letter; the principal town or city (Paris is the capital of France); wealth, money (capital gains tax), as an exclamation: "excellent"
Capitol: the home of the US Congress and some other legislatures
chord: group of musical notes; anything that can be "struck" (It struck a sensitive chord)
cord: rope; long electrical line; vertebral column
cored: having the inside cut out, like an apple
cawed: past tense of "to caw" - to make a raucous noise
choux (pronounced as shoe): plural of chou, as used in choux pastry
shoe: footwear
shoo: exclamation used for scaring things away
compliment: a praising or flattering remark given to someone; to give such a remark
complement: something that forms a set with something else; to form a set with
do: conduct or carry out something
do (to rhyme with doe) / doh: the first note of the solfege scale
doe: a deer (a female deer); also female of various other species (by extension)
d'oh: an annoyed grunt
dough: a moistened mass of flour used to make bread; slang term for money
dyeing: artificially coloring
dying: passing away
effect: ramification: cause and effect; sound effect (as a noun); bring about (effect change) (as a verb)
affect: have an effect on; pretentiously display (affect a British accent); emotion (in psychology and psychiatry).
fa / fah: the fourth note of the solfege scale
far: distant
fairy: imaginary small person with special powers (often homophonous with "ferry" in the US)
ferry: boat for carrying people or vehicles short distances on water
faze: to temporarily stop or shock (It didn't even faze them)
phase: a stage through which one goes
flaw: defect
floor: a level; lower surface of a room; the area of a legilsative building members speak from, so "to take/hold the floor"; to knock to the ground; to confound someone
flor: a yeasty growth that forms on sherry after fermentation.
hair: an outgrowth of the epidermis in mammals (e.g. human facial hair); similar structures on plants
hare: (noun) a swift, long-eared mammal which, along with rabbits, forms the family Leporidae; (verb) to dash or sprint ("I hared around the kitchen")
Herr: the title meaning "Mr." for a man from Germany or Austria
hay: grass cut and dried for animal feed
hay: the choke of an artichoke
hey: an exclamation used to draw attention, "Hey! Over here!"; a greeting
hey or hay: a kind of country dance
heigh: in the phrase "heigh-ho" expressing weariness or disappointment
Hay: the surname of William Howard Hay, creator of the Hay diet; a place in New South Wales
Haye: a place in Cornwall
hei: as in hei-tiki
here: this place (opposed to there)
hear: sense with the ears; also in the phrase "Hear! Hear!" for strong agreement
high: opposite of low; elevated, far above the ground; under the influence of drugs
hi: a greeting; shortened from "high" as part of hi-fi or el-hi
hie: to speed or hurry somewhere, "hie thee to France"
hi or heigh: part of the phrase "hi-ho" in the song "Hi Ho Silver Lining", or "heigh-ho" in the movie lyric "heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go"
jai: as in jai alai
hoard: to accumulate and store up as much of something as one can
horde: large group of warriors, mob
hoared: old, mouldy, fusty
whored: past tense of "to whore" - to act as a prostitute
its: belonging to it (analogous to my, your, his, her, our, their)
it's: contraction for "it is" (analogous to I'm, you're, he's, she's, we're, they're) or "it has" (analogous to I've, you've, he's, she's, we've, they've)
key: instrument used to open locks; a guide to symbols, especially on maps; the essential element "the key to his success"; a range of musical notes "try it in a lower key"; a button or lever on piano or computer keyboards
key: a low island or sandbank, the Florida Keys
quay: pronounced as key in the UK, as key, kay or kway in the US; a wharf, a structure built out into water for the ease of loading and unloading vessels
cay: a West Indian word for an island, as in the novel The Cay
ki: another name for the Hawai'ian plant ti
lam: US slang: "on the lam" means "on the run"
lamb: a young sheep
lama: priest (for example the Dalai Lama)
llama: camelid mammal
law: legal rule
lore: old story often not written down
lead: pronounced to rhyme with "seed", to guide or serve as the head of
lead: pronounced to rhyme with "head", a heavy metal
led: the past tense of "lead"
leed: a copper kettle; a cauldron
lede: the opening in a piece of journalist's copy (also spelled "lead")
leek: a vegetable of the onion family which is the national emblem of Wales
leak: a hole which allows a gas or liquid to escape; confidential information sent to journalists to expose some issue (the leak came from within the White House itself); slang for urination
Leek: places in England and the Netherlands
lock: a mechanical device for securing doors or canals; also the act of using such a device (verb); a tuft of human hair
loch: a lake or bay, usually in Scotland or Ireland (Loch Ness)
Lok: alternative name for Loki, the Norse god of mischief
Locke: the surname of early liberal philosopher John Locke
mail: items sent through the postal service; armor
male: opposite of female
mantle: one of the layers of the Earth; a cloak (by metaphorical extension, special position or role held)
mantel: over the fireplace
medal: an award to be strung around the neck
meddle: stick one's nose into others' affairs
metal: shiny, malleable element or alloy like silver, gold, iron, zinc, tin, copper, bronze or brass
mettle: toughness, guts
- Note that the first two of these are only homonyms of the second two in North American accents.
me: personal pronoun
me: a concept in Sumerian mythology
me / mi: the third note of the solfege scale
morning: the time between midnight and midday
mourning: period of grieving after the death of a relative, friend or public figure, clothing worn at this time (e.g. mourning dove)
muscle: one of the parts of the body used to move
mussel: a bivalve popular as seafood
past: time before now (past, present and future); beyond; after the hour (three past nine = 9:03); former (in her past life)
passed: past tense of "to pass"
parse: to break down into component parts (e.g. for analysis)
pars: the acts of scoring a par in golf; also plural of "par"
parrs: plural of "parr" - a young salmonid fish
piece: portion
peace: opposite of war; quietness (peace of mind) or silence (speak now or forever keep your peace)
peak: tip, height, to reach its highest point, a mountain
peek: to take a brief look, usually through a thin aperture (sneak peek)
pique: fit of anger; to incite (pique one's interest)
paw: a mammal's foot
poor: impoverished; also, to be pitied (Poor Peter!), also bad (poor quality)
pore: a hole in the skin; to go over with great focus (pore over)
pour: to run out (said of liquid); to rain heavily
principal: can be a noun or an adjective, a person of primary importance
principle: a noun: it cannot be an adjective, a fundamental rule or law
rack: a long, open container with a rectangular frame (spice rack); one's upper body; to torture (verb) or an instrument of torture (noun)
wrack: to destroy, a shipwreck, commonly found in the phrase "to go to wrack and ruin"
- Note: In British English, only the first spelling should be used in the phrase "to rack one's brains"; in American English the second spelling is also acceptable in this context; the meaning of "rack" in this phrase is related to the rack as an instrument of torture
rain: water falling from the sky
reign: to rule; hold the position as monarch
rein: the strip used to control a horse; anything that restrains; to restrain anything by pulling in its irrational exuberance (pull the reins in on)
Rayne: a city in Louisiana
raise: to increase
raze: to destroy, to obliterate: "the town was razed to the ground by the fire"
rays: beams of light or energy (sun's rays, X-rays, gamma rays, etc.); cartilaginous fishes
Reyes: as in Point Reyes
ray: a beam of light
ray: a type of fish
ray / re: the second note of the solfege scale
re: with reference to
Re / Ra(h): an Egyptian god.
rah: a short form of "hurrah"
reek: to stink
wreak: to bring about (wreak havoc)
reak: a rush (plant), or a prank
rest: sit down without doing anything active; the remainder
wrest: to struggle to extricate something (wrest it out of his hands)
retch: to vomit
wretch: a person in a miserable condition; a person of bad character
right: the direction opposite to left; correct; something a person must have his/her choice to do respected (the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness); straight or directly (went right to his heart)
write: to put down in letters; send a letter to (Write me soon!)
rite: ritual, ceremony (rites of passage)
wright: connected with other words to mean someone who constructs (playwright, scenewright, wheelwright)
ring: piece of jewelry; make a sound like a bell or telephone, or tinnitus in the ears; anything shaped like a circle or torus (like the rings in a bathtub); sound familiarly like (that rings of fascism)
wring: strangle (wring his neck), squeeze and twist (wring the water out of laundry)
row (rhymes with "go"): to pull a boat through the water with oars
row (rhymes with "cow"): a fuss or a fight
roe: fish eggs (such as caviar); a deer (the roebuck)
Roe: pseudonym used in court cases for women having or seeking abortions (most famously in Roe v. Wade)
rho: letter of the Greek alphabet equivalent to R
Ro: a constructed language based on categorization
seem: appear to
seam: a join; a line of stitches that holds two pieces together
sight: vision
site: place, grounds; place in cyberspace
cite: quote or make a reference to; write a ticket
so: likewise; therefore; to such a degree
so or soh: the fifth note of the solfege scale
sow (pronounced as so): to scatter seeds
sew (pronounced as so): join together or stitch
sew (pronounced as sue): to drain (as the root of sewage)
Sioux (pronounced as sue): Native American tribe
sou (pronounced as sue): a French five-centime coin; any small amount of money
sous (pronounced as sue): French for under, as in sous-chef - a subordinate chef
sue: to prosecute or petition for
xu (pronounced as sue): a Vietnamese monetary unit, 1/100 of a dong
sow (to rhyme with cow): a female pig
some: a few
sum: what you get when you add numbers; short for summarize (sum up)
soul: spirit; mellow African-American music style
sole: single and only; the surface of the bottom of the foot; flat fish like flounder, petrale or halibut
Seoul: the capital of South Korea
Sol: the solar system we live in
tail: appendage of most mammals
tale: a story
tea: a tree and the drink produced from its leaves
tee: a support for the ball in golf
ti / te: the seventh note of the solfege scale
ti: a Polynesian tree similar to the taro
tear (rhymes with fear): a drop of fluid which falls from the eyes when weeping or crying
tear (rhymes with fare): rip; to run extremely fast, jolt, bolt, dart
tare: dry measure of grains; payment in wheat; adjustment to a weighing device
tier: layer or level
their: belonging to them
there: that place (opposed to here); also used to start sentences that denote indication of the existence of something (There is a casserole in the fridge; There were many problems with her To Kill a Mockingbird essay; There are no anarchists in the White House)
they're: contraction for "they are"
therefore: thus, ergo (I think therefore I am)
therefor: for the aforementioned thing or purpose; for that (similar to thereof, thereby, therefrom, thereagainst, etc.)
to: towards or headed for; in order to; used before the infinitive of verbs
too: also; excessively
two: the number 2
tui: the parson bird
tout: French word meaning "all", as in mange-tout
waste: to use up for something pointless; sewage (toxic waste)
waist: the line that goes across the middle of your body
weighest: archaic second person singular of the verb "to weigh" (thou weighest)
weather: the meteorological conditions; to survive some wear and tear
whether: if something is so or not
wether: a male sheep (The bellwether was the ram who led the herd, and carried a bell around his neck to signal the front of the herd coming.)
wet: to dampen; damp
whet: to sharpen (a knife, one's appetite)
whose: belonging to whom
who's: contraction for "who is" or "who has"
your: belonging to you (analogous to my, his, her, its, our, their)
you're: contraction for "you are" (analogous to I'm, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're)
yore: time long ago, a bygone age ("the days of yore")
yaw: swerve (usually of a ship or a spacecraft)

Japanese

萩村 - Hagimura, a person's name
荻村 - Ogimura, a person's name