Which to use
“chips” is a verb and “chives” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,012
- “chips” frequency rank
- #45,841
- “chives” frequency rank
- 50853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chips | chives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of chip | plural of chive |
Where the eye mixes chips and chives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: chips vs chives
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chips is /t͡ʃɪps/ while chives is /t͡ʃaɪvz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chips is recorded at frequency rank #5,012, classified as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃɪps/. chives is at rank #45,841, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪvz/.
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 50853, this pair ranks #170,590 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chips vs chives
Shared letters: chis. Private to "chips": p. Private to "chives": ev.
"chips" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "chives" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chips" for "chives" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chips" or "chives"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "chips" and "chives" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "chips" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,590 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chips" and "chives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chimed vs chives". 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 #170,590 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.