# gnaw vs GNU

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### gnaw
*verb · IPA /nɔː/ · frequency rank #49,362*
To bite something persistently, especially something tough.

### GNU
*noun · IPA /ˈd͡ʒiːˌɛnˈjuː/ · frequency rank #27,477*
Abbreviation of government of national unity.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnaw-vs-gnu