Spelling
Compatable or compatible?
Compatible is the right spelling. Compatable is a common misspelling of it.
COMPATABLE has A where COMPATIBLE has I.
Why people write COMPATABLE
In an unstressed syllable, A, E, I and O all sound like a quick "uh", so the ear cannot tell which one is written.
Find a related word where that syllable is stressed, and the vowel becomes clear: definite has finite in it, and grammar goes with grammatical.
How often COMPATIBLE is misspelled
In the web pages Google counted for its trillion-word corpus (Peter Norvig's word counts), COMPATABLE appears 9 times for every 1,000 COMPATIBLE, about once for every 111 correct uses.
Is COMPATABLE a word?
No. COMPATABLE is not in NWL2023, Collins Scrabble Words or ENABLE, the word lists Scrabble and other word games use, so no word game accepts it. COMPATIBLE is in all three and scores 18 points in Scrabble before bonus squares.
What compatible means
adjective: Able to exist and perform in harmonious or agreeable combination.
For example: "a compatible married couple"
More words with the same mistake
The wrong vowel:
More spelling help
Commonly misspelled words, grouped by the mistake · Free printables and word games for teachers · Unscramble any letters