chinkvschockWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,376
“chink” frequency rank
#34,430
“chock” frequency rank
80806
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chink chock
Definition A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack. Any object used as a wedge or filler, especially when placed behind a wheel to prevent it from rolling.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chink and chock apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
chink
5 ch
chock

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chink (/t͡ʃɪŋk/) and chock (/tʃɒk/) 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 80806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chink is recorded at frequency rank #46,376, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃɪŋk/. chock is at rank #34,430, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tʃɒk/.

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 80806, this pair ranks #19,028 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chink vs chock

Shared letters: chk. Private to "chink": in. Private to "chock": o.

"chink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "chock" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chinkcchink · chhink · chikn · chinkk · chinnk · chnik · cihnk · hcink
  • chockcchock · chcok · chhock · chocck · chockk · chokc · cohck · hcock

Frequency comparison

chink#46,376
chock#34,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chink" and "chock" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/t͡ʃɪŋk/ versus /tʃɒk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chink" or "chock"?
"chock" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,430 in our English list, against #46,376 for "chink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chink vs chock

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 “chink” 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