Which to use
“magic” and “mic” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,796
- “magic” frequency rank
- #9,498
- “mic” frequency rank
- 11294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | magic | mic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them. | Alternative form of mike (“microphone”). |
Where the eye mixes magic and mic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses magic with mic
A purely visual mix-up. magic (/ˈmad͡ʒɪk/) and mic (/ˈmaɪk/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
magic is recorded at frequency rank #1,796, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmad͡ʒɪk/. mic is at rank #9,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaɪk/.
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 11294, this pair ranks #487,831 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of magic vs mic
Shared letters: cim. Private to "magic": ag. Private to "mic": -.
"magic" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- magic ← amgic · magci · maggic · magicc · maigc · mgaic · mmagic
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "magic" for "mic" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "magic" or "mic" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "magic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #487,831 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "magic" and "mic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mic vs MMP". 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 #487,831 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.