gnomevsgoodeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: gnome is a noun, goode is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gnome” is a noun and “goode” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,391
“gnome” frequency rank
#30,067
“goode” frequency rank
52458
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gnome goode
Definition An elemental (spirit or corporeal creature associated with a classical element) associated with earth. Obsolete spelling of good.

Letter map: gnome vs goode

Shared letters muted; letters that set gnome and goode apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. gnome (CCVCV) and goode (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
gnome
5 ch
goode

Grammar separator: gnome vs goode

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: gnome is anoun and goodeanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52458, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gnome is recorded at frequency rank #22,391, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈnəʊ̯m/. goode is at rank #30,067, tagged as anadj.

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 52458, this pair ranks #156,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gnome vs goode

Shared letters: ego. Private to "gnome": mn. Private to "goode": d.

"gnome" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "goode" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gnome ← ggnome · gnmoe · gnnome · gnoem · gnomme · gonme · ngome
  • goode ← ggoode · gode · godoe · goodde · gooed · ogode

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gnome" and "goode" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gnome" is a noun and "goode" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "gnome" or "goode" show up more?
"gnome" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,391 in our English list, against #30,067 for "goode". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "gnome" vs "goode" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gnome" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "goode" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #156,880 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gnome" and "goode" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "goode vs goop". 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 #156,880 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list