Which to use
“chimes” and “chimp” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,720
- “chimes” frequency rank
- #30,731
- “chimp” frequency rank
- 57451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chimes | chimp |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chime | Clipping of chimpanzee. |
Where the eye mixes chimes and chimp
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chimes runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against chimp's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses chimes with chimp
A purely visual mix-up. chimes (/t͡ʃaɪmz/) and chimp (/t͡ʃɪmp/) 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 57451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chimes is recorded at frequency rank #26,720, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪmz/. chimp is at rank #30,731, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃɪmp/.
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 57451, this pair ranks #119,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chimes vs chimp
Shared letters: chim. Private to "chimes": es. Private to "chimp": p.
"chimes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chimp" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chimes" and "chimp" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "chimes" vs "chimp" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chimes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chimp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chimes" and "chimp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Chaim vs chimp". 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 #119,202 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.