homofonen

Homofonen, or homophones in English, are words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings and often different spellings. The defining feature is phonetic identity: when spoken, the words sound alike, even though their senses and origins differ. They are distinct from homographs, which look the same in writing but may have different meanings, and from polysemy, where a single form has related senses.

Homofonen arise in many languages because phonological systems do not always distinguish every meaning with distinct spellings or pronunciations. The exact set of homophones can vary by dialect or accent. In some cases, near-homophones—words that sound very similar but not exactly the same in a given accent—may also cause confusion, especially in rapid speech or unfamiliar dialects.

Examples in English include knight and night; flower and flour; two, to, and too (depending on pronunciation); and sea and see. In practice, contexts such as sentence meaning and syntactic roles help listeners disambiguate which word is intended. Some languages maintain explicit written distinctions that reflect etymology or historical sound changes, while others rely more heavily on context to resolve potential ambiguity.

In linguistics and language education, homofonen are important for understanding sound-symbol correspondence, spelling challenges, and error analysis in writing and transcription. Dictionaries and grammar resources often provide usage notes to clarify when a pair or group of words is likely to be confused and how to distinguish them in writing, speech, and listening.