Kim Bach

Many learners of English think that comfortable and convenient mean exactly the same thing. But they don’t. Let’s explain the difference.

 

Comfortable

You say comfortable about things that make your body feel relaxed and in a place that feels good. So comfortable means physical comfort.

A chair can be comfortable, because it feels good when you sit in it.

A bed can be comfortable, because it feels good when you lie in it.

A pillow can be comfortable, because you rest your head on it and it feels nice.

Your old shoes are comfortable, because they have gotten the exact shape of your feet and they feel so soft.

You can also use comfortable when you mean something makes you feel relaxed in general.

If your salary is comfortable, it means you don’t have to worry about money.

If your house is comfortable, it means the furniture and the way it is built make you feel relaxed.

 

Convenient

Convenient means that something makes your life easier or it suits you.

For instance a mobile phone is convenient, because you can always make phone calls wherever you are.

Buying a cup of coffee on your way to the office can be convenient, because you don’t need to brew coffee in your own home and it can save you time.

Your health provider sends you a nurse to your home to take your blood test. This is convenient, because there’s no need to go to the clinic.

Having an international driver’s license is convenient because you can use it in every country.

 

The opposite of comfortable is uncomfortable.

The opposite of convenient is inconvenient.

 

Let’s do an exercise with this:

You can do this exercise online, here.

Choose the right word.

1 The train station is right next to where I live. This is extremely ______________.

2 The seats in the airplane weren’t very _____________, so I wasn’t able to catch any sleep.

3 The gym opens already at 6:30, which is _____________ as I can do my workout before going to work.

4 The Jeffersons decided to move to the city where their parents live, because then they have a ____________ babysit for their children.

5 Sally thinks woollen jumpers are ______________ because they itch.

6 Why don’t you throw away those tattered old trainers? – Because they’re very ____________.

7 I have two meetings today but they’re in different cities, which isn’t very _____________.

8 This supermarket has everything I need, so it’s very _______________.

9 We need translations into Korean and Hindu for this project. It would be _______________ if we could find the same person who knows both those languages but it will probably be hard to find someone.

10 The popularity of wearing jeans surely is due to their being both _____________ because they feel great and _____________ because you can wear them with anything.

11 It’s not hot today. In fact, the weather is really ______________.

12 We have a dish in the oven that everyone in our family loves and the candles are on the table. We’re going to spend a ______________ evening at home.

13 Zander has only just learned how to trade options, but already he’s sitting on _____________ earnings.