jinxvsjongWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“jinx” and “jong” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,209
“jinx” frequency rank
#11,058
“jong” frequency rank
35267
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jinx jong
Definition A hex; an evil spell. A Tibetan building which makes up a prefecture; typically a monastery or fortress.

Where the eye mixes jinx and jong

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
jinx
4 ch
jong

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. jinx (/d͡ʒɪŋks/) and jong (/dʒɒŋ/) 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 35267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jinx is recorded at frequency rank #24,209, classified as anoun, pronounced /d͡ʒɪŋks/. jong is at rank #11,058, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dʒɒŋ/.

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 35267, this pair ranks #313,424 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of jinx vs jong

Shared letters: jn. Private to "jinx": ix. Private to "jong": go.

"jinx" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "jong" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jinxijnx · jinnx · jinxx · jixn · jjinx · jnix
  • jongjjong · jnog · jogn · jongg · jonng · ojng

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "jinx" and "jong" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/d͡ʒɪŋks/ versus /dʒɒŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "jinx" or "jong"?
"jong" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,058 in our English list, against #24,209 for "jinx". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "jinx" and "jong". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "jinx" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jong" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #313,424 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jinx" and "jong" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jinn vs jinx". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list