Which to use
“flips” and “flows” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,838
- “flips” frequency rank
- #5,682
- “flows” frequency rank
- 25520
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flips | flows |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of flip | plural of flow |
Where the eye mixes flips and flows
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: flips vs flows
A purely visual mix-up. flips (/flɪps/) and flows (/fləʊz/) 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 25520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flips is recorded at frequency rank #19,838, classified as anoun, pronounced /flɪps/. flows is at rank #5,682, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fləʊz/.
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 25520, this pair ranks #393,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of flips vs flows
Shared letters: fls. Private to "flips": ip. Private to "flows": ow.
"flips" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "flows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "flips" and "flows" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "flips" or "flows"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "flips" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flows" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #393,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flips" and "flows" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FIS vs flips". 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 #393,642 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.