Which to use
“mild” is an adjective and “mixed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,982
- “mild” frequency rank
- #2,305
- “mixed” frequency rank
- 8287
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mild | mixed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gentle and not easily angered. | simple past and past participle of mix |
Where the eye mixes mild and mixed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mild vs mixed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mild is /ˈmaɪld/ while mixed is /mɪkst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mild is recorded at frequency rank #5,982, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaɪld/. mixed is at rank #2,305, tagged as averb, pronounced /mɪkst/.
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 8287, this pair ranks #503,240 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mild vs mixed
Shared letters: dim. Private to "mild": l. Private to "mixed": ex.
"mild" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mixed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mild" for "mixed" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mild" vs "mixed" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mild" and "mixed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mild" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mixed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,240 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mild" and "mixed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mela vs mild". 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 #503,240 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.