typistvstyposWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,719
“typist” frequency rank
#28,770
“typos” frequency rank
74489
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature typist typos
Definition A person who types, a clerical worker who writes letters, etc., using a typewriter. plural of typo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set typist and typos apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
typist
5 ch
typos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. typist (/ˈtaɪpɪst/) and typos (/ˈtaɪ.pəʊz/) 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 74489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

typist is recorded at frequency rank #45,719, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtaɪpɪst/. typos is at rank #28,770, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtaɪ.pəʊz/.

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 74489, this pair ranks #36,198 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of typist vs typos

Shared letters: psty. Private to "typist": i. Private to "typos": o.

"typist" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "typos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • typisttpyist · ttypist · tyipst · typisst · typistt · typits · typpist · typsit
  • typostpyos · ttypos · tyops · typoss · typpos · typso · tyypos · ytpos

Frequency comparison

typist#45,719
typos#28,770

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "typist" and "typos" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtaɪpɪst/ versus /ˈtaɪ.pəʊz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "typist" or "typos"?
"typos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,770 in our English list, against #45,719 for "typist". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering typist vs typos

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 “typist” 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