Which to use
“chooses” and “chose” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,148
- “chooses” frequency rank
- #2,719
- “chose” frequency rank
- 11867
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chooses | chose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of choose | simple past of choose |
Where the eye mixes chooses and chose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. chooses runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against chose's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between chooses and chose
A purely visual mix-up. chooses (/ˈt͡ʃuːzɪz/) and chose (/t͡ʃəʊz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chooses is recorded at frequency rank #9,148, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃuːzɪz/. chose is at rank #2,719, tagged as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃəʊz/.
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 11867, this pair ranks #484,698 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chooses vs chose
Shared letters: cehos. Private to "chooses": -. Private to "chose": -.
"chooses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "chose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chooses" and "chose" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "chooses" vs "chose" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chooses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #484,698 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chooses" and "chose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chose vs crone". 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 #484,698 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.