Which to use
“hips” and “hypo” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,761
- “hips” frequency rank
- #42,192
- “hypo” frequency rank
- 51953
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hips | hypo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of hip | Melancholy; a fit of hypochondria; a morbid depression. |
Where the eye mixes hips and hypo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hips with hypo
A purely visual mix-up. hips (/hɪps/) and hypo (/ˈhaɪ.pəʊ/) 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 51953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hips is recorded at frequency rank #9,761, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɪps/. hypo is at rank #42,192, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhaɪ.pəʊ/.
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 51953, this pair ranks #161,113 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hips vs hypo
Shared letters: hp. Private to "hips": is. Private to "hypo": oy.
"hips" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hypo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hips" and "hypo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hips" or "hypo"?
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 "hips" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hypo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,113 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hips" and "hypo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "HMO vs hypo". 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 #161,113 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.