Which to use
“file” is a noun and “filed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,825
- “file” frequency rank
- #3,058
- “filed” frequency rank
- 4883
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | file | filed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A collection of papers collated and archived together. | simple past and past participle of file |
Where the eye mixes file and filed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: file is /faɪl/ while filed is /faɪld/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “file” sits inside “filed”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4883, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
file is recorded at frequency rank #1,825, classified as anoun, pronounced /faɪl/. filed is at rank #3,058, tagged as averb, pronounced /faɪld/.
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 4883, this pair ranks #517,342 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of file vs filed
Shared letters: efil. Private to "file": -. Private to "filed": d.
"file" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "filed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC