Which to use
“mink” and “mook” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,904
- “mink” frequency rank
- #48,363
- “mook” frequency rank
- 72267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mink | mook |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammal in the Mustelinae subfamily, similar to weasels, with dark fur, native to Europe and America, of which two species in different genera are extant: the American mink (Neogale vison) and the European mink (Mustela lutreola). | A disagreeable or incompetent person. |
Where the eye mixes mink and mook
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mink with mook
A purely visual mix-up. mink (/mɪŋk/) and mook (/muːk/) 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 72267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mink is recorded at frequency rank #23,904, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɪŋk/. mook is at rank #48,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced /muːk/.
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 72267, this pair ranks #43,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mink vs mook
Shared letters: km. Private to "mink": in. Private to "mook": o.
"mink" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mook" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mink" and "mook" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "mink" or "mook" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mook" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mink" and "mook" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moog vs mook". 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 #43,637 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.