Which to use
“flaked” and “flicked” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,922
- “flaked” frequency rank
- #32,401
- “flicked” frequency rank
- 82323
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flaked | flicked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of flake | simple past and past participle of flick |
Where the eye mixes flaked and flicked
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between flaked and flicked
A purely visual mix-up. flaked (/fleɪkt/) and flicked (/flɪkt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flaked is recorded at frequency rank #49,922, classified as averb, pronounced /fleɪkt/. flicked is at rank #32,401, tagged as averb, pronounced /flɪkt/.
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 82323, this pair ranks #15,917 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of flaked vs flicked
Shared letters: defkl. Private to "flaked": a. Private to "flicked": ci.
"flaked" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "flicked" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "flaked" and "flicked" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "flaked" or "flicked"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "flaked" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flicked" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,917 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flaked" and "flicked" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flaked vs flamed". 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 #15,917 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.