Which to use
“change” is a verb and “changed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #259
- “change” frequency rank
- #897
- “changed” frequency rank
- 1156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | change | changed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To become something different. | Having undergone a change. |
Where the eye mixes change and changed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between change and changed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: change is /t͡ʃeɪ̯nd͡ʒ/ while changed is /t͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “change” sits inside “changed”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
change is recorded at frequency rank #259, classified as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃeɪ̯nd͡ʒ/. changed is at rank #897, tagged as anadj, pronounced /t͡ʃeɪnd͡ʒd/.
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 1156, this pair ranks #527,984 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of change vs changed
Shared letters: aceghn. Private to "change": -. Private to "changed": d.
"change" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "changed" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "change" for "changed" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "change" or "changed" show up more?
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 "change" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "changed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #527,984 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "change" and "changed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "changed vs cringed". 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 #527,984 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.