tigvstinkWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,206
“tig” frequency rank
#40,928
“tink” frequency rank
79134
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tig tink
Definition To touch lightly or playfully; to trifle, dally. To emit a high-pitched sharp or metallic noise.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tig and tink apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
tig
4 ch
tink

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tig (/tɪɡ/) and tink (/tɪŋk/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tig is recorded at frequency rank #38,206, classified as averb, pronounced /tɪɡ/. tink is at rank #40,928, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɪŋk/.

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 79134, this pair ranks #22,818 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tig vs tink

Shared letters: it. Private to "tig": g. Private to "tink": kn.

"tig" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "tink" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tinkitnk · tikn · tinkk · tinnk · tnik · ttink

Frequency comparison

tig#38,206
tink#40,928

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tig" and "tink" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/tɪɡ/ versus /tɪŋk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tig" or "tink"?
"tig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,206 in our English list, against #40,928 for "tink". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tig vs tink

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tig” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list