chimedvschippedWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,116
“chimed” frequency rank
#20,881
“chipped” frequency rank
64997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chimed chipped
Definition simple past and past participle of chime simple past and past participle of chip

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chimed and chipped apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chimed
7 ch
chipped

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chimed (/t͡ʃaɪmd/) and chipped (/t͡ʃɪpt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chimed is recorded at frequency rank #44,116, classified as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪmd/. chipped is at rank #20,881, tagged as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃɪpt/.

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 64997, this pair ranks #74,919 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chimed vs chipped

Shared letters: cdehi. Private to "chimed": m. Private to "chipped": p.

"chimed" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "chipped" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chimedcchimed · chhimed · chiemd · chimde · chimedd · chimmed · chmied · cihmed
  • chippedcchipped · chhipped · chiped · chipepd · chippde · chippedd · chpiped · cihpped

Frequency comparison

chimed#44,116
chipped#20,881

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chimed" and "chipped" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/t͡ʃaɪmd/ versus /t͡ʃɪpt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chimed" or "chipped"?
"chipped" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,881 in our English list, against #44,116 for "chimed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chimed vs chipped

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chimed” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list