Which to use
“chimes” and “chokes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,720
- “chimes” frequency rank
- #31,913
- “chokes” frequency rank
- 58633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chimes | chokes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chime | plural of choke |
Where the eye mixes chimes and chokes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chimes and chokes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between chimes and chokes
A purely visual mix-up. chimes (/t͡ʃaɪmz/) and chokes (/tʃəʊks/) 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 58633, 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/. chokes is at rank #31,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʃəʊks/.
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 58633, this pair ranks #111,301 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chimes vs chokes
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "chimes": im. Private to "chokes": ko.
"chimes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chimes" for "chokes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chimes" vs "chokes" - 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 "chokes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #111,301 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chimes" and "chokes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chokes vs Croker". 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 #111,301 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.