Which to use
“flick” is a verb and “flink” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,556
- “flick” frequency rank
- #33,588
- “flink” frequency rank
- 64144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flick | flink |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs flicken | schnell und behände; flott |
Where the eye mixes flick and flink
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses flick with flink
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flick is [flɪk] while flink is [flɪŋk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “flick” becomes n in “flink”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flick is recorded at frequency rank #30,556, classified as averb, pronounced [flɪk]. flink is at rank #33,588, tagged as anadj, pronounced [flɪŋk].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 64144, this pair ranks #651,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of flick vs flink
Shared letters: fikl. Private to "flick": c. Private to "flink": n.
"flick" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "flink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "flick" for "flink" ever safe?
Frequency check: "flick" vs "flink" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "flick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flink" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #651,881 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flick" and "flink" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flick vs Fock". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #651,881 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.