Which to use
“chime” is a noun and “chimed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,111
- “chime” frequency rank
- #44,116
- “chimed” frequency rank
- 68227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chime | chimed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A musical instrument producing a sound when struck, similar to a bell (e.g. a tubular metal bar) or actually a bell. Often used in the plural to refer to the set: the chimes. | simple past and past participle of chime |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chime and chimed apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chime is /tʃaɪm/ while chimed is /t͡ʃaɪmd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “chime” sits inside “chimed”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chime is recorded at frequency rank #24,111, classified as anoun, pronounced /tʃaɪm/. chimed is at rank #44,116, tagged as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪmd/.
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 68227, this pair ranks #59,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chime vs chimed
Shared letters: cehim. Private to "chime": -. Private to "chimed": d.
"chime" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chimed" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chime" and "chimed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chime" or "chimed"?
Remembering chime vs chimed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chime”; for a verb, it's “chimed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chime” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable