blocksvsblokesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“blocks” and “blokes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,410
“blocks” frequency rank
#26,700
“blokes” frequency rank
30110
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blocks blokes
Definition plural of block plural of bloke

Where the eye mixes blocks and blokes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
blocks
6 ch
blokes

Visual trap between blocks and blokes

A purely visual mix-up. blocks (/blɑks/) and blokes (/bləʊks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blocks is recorded at frequency rank #3,410, classified as anoun, pronounced /blɑks/. blokes is at rank #26,700, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bləʊks/.

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 30110, this pair ranks #357,282 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of blocks vs blokes

Shared letters: bklos. Private to "blocks": c. Private to "blokes": e.

"blocks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "blokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • blocksbblocks · blcoks · bllocks · bloccks · blockks · blockss · blocsk · blokcs
  • blokesbblokes · blkoes · bllokes · bloeks · blokess · blokkes · blokse · bolkes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "blocks" for "blokes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/blɑks/ versus /bləʊks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "blocks" or "blokes"?
"blocks" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,410 in our English list, against #26,700 for "blokes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "blocks" and "blokes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "blocks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "blokes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #357,282 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "blocks" and "blokes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blokes vs bodes". 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 #357,282 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list