Which to use
“chums” and “chunk” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,980
- “chums” frequency rank
- #12,204
- “chunk” frequency rank
- 59184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chums | chunk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chum | A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone. |
Where the eye mixes chums and chunk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: chums vs chunk
A purely visual mix-up. chums (/t͡ʃʌmz/) and chunk (/t͡ʃʌŋk/) 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 59184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chums is recorded at frequency rank #46,980, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃʌmz/. chunk is at rank #12,204, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃʌŋk/.
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 59184, this pair ranks #107,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chums vs chunk
Shared letters: chu. Private to "chums": ms. Private to "chunk": kn.
"chums" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "chunk" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chums" for "chunk" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chums" vs "chunk" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chums" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chunk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,777 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chums" and "chunk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chums vs coms". 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 #107,777 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.