Which to use
“flag” and “flop” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,268
- “flag” frequency rank
- #19,838
- “flop” frequency rank
- 42106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flag | flop |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Flagrant délit. | Échec, en particulier d’œuvre artistique ou d’entreprise commerciale. |
Where the eye mixes flag and flop
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between flag and flop
A purely visual mix-up. flag (\flaɡ\) and flop (\flɔp\) 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 42106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flag is recorded at frequency rank #22,268, classified as anoun, pronounced \flaɡ\. flop is at rank #19,838, tagged as anoun, pronounced \flɔp\.
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 42106, this pair ranks #228,187 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of flag vs flop
Shared letters: fl. Private to "flag": ag. Private to "flop": op.
"flag" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "flop" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "flag" and "flop" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "flag" or "flop"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "flag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flop" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #228,187 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flag" and "flop" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ffa vs flag". 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 #228,187 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.