Which to use
“c'mon” is a contraction and “canon” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,341
- “c'mon” frequency rank
- #5,940
- “canon” frequency rank
- 16281
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | c'mon | canon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contraction of come on. | A generally accepted principle; a rule. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set c'mon and canon apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: c'mon is /kəˈmɒn/ while canon is /ˈkæn.ən/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
c'mon is recorded at frequency rank #10,341, classified as acontraction, pronounced /kəˈmɒn/. canon is at rank #5,940, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkæn.ən/.
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 16281, this pair ranks #458,768 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of c'mon vs canon
Shared letters: cno. Private to "c'mon": m. Private to "canon": a.
"c'mon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "canon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- canon ← acnon · canno · canonn · caonn · ccanon · cnaon
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "c'mon" and "canon" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "c'mon" or "canon"?
Remembering c'mon vs canon
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “c'mon”; for a noun, it's “canon”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “c'mon” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable