Which to use
“flake” is a noun and “flamed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,087
- “flake” frequency rank
- #48,238
- “flamed” frequency rank
- 70325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flake | flamed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of anything | simple past and past participle of flame |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set flake and flamed apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: flake is /fleɪk/ while flamed is /fleɪmd/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flake is recorded at frequency rank #22,087, classified as anoun, pronounced /fleɪk/. flamed is at rank #48,238, tagged as averb, pronounced /fleɪmd/.
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 70325, this pair ranks #51,019 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of flake vs flamed
Shared letters: aefl. Private to "flake": k. Private to "flamed": dm.
"flake" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "flamed" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "flake" and "flamed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "flake" or "flamed"?
Remembering flake vs flamed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “flake”; for a verb, it's “flamed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “flake” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable