replay · reply

replay /ˈriːpleɪ/ · reply /rɪˈplaɪ/ — both start with “re-”, but the ending vowel and the meaning are completely different: one plays something again, the other answers someone.

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Both start with the same re-, which tempts learners to guess they rhyme. They don’t — and the meaning is unrelated too. replay means to play something again; reply means to answer someone.

⠿ reorder

replay

verb / noun — to play something again — 'replay the video' · 'watch the replay in slow motion'

mouth shape

diphthong /eɪ/ — lips spread and glide up, like 'play', 'day', 'way' — replay ends exactly the way 'play' does, because it's built from re- + play

replay

/ˈriːpleɪ/

vowel length

diphthong /eɪ/

plays as: “watch the replay”

⠿ reorder

verb / noun — to respond to someone — 'reply to the email' · 'wait for a reply'

mouth shape

diphthong /aɪ/ — mouth opens wide then closes toward /ɪ/, like 'try', 'fly', 'why' — reply ends the way 'try' does

reply

/rɪˈplaɪ/

vowel length

diphthong /aɪ/

plays as: “please reply soon”

Key difference — and a shortcut

replay /eɪ/ literally contains the word “play” — re + play — so it ends exactly like play, day, way. reply /aɪ/ comes from Latin re- + plicare (“to fold back”), not from “play” at all — it ends like try, fly, why. Shortcut: if you can hear “play” at the end, it’s replay. If it sounds like “try”, it’s reply.

Spelling trap

reply ends in a consonant + y, so the y changes to i before -ed or -s: replied, replies. replay ends in a vowel + y (-ay), so the y never changes: replayed, replays — never “replaied”. Both simply add -ing with no change: replaying, replying.