Which to use
“goff” and “golf” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,066
- “goff” frequency rank
- #2,679
- “golf” frequency rank
- 32745
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | goff | golf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete form of golf (“ball game”). | A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes. |
Letter map: goff vs golf
Shared letters muted; letters that set goff and golf apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Corpus notes: goff and golf
goff and golf are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - f in “goff” becomes l in “golf”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
goff is recorded at frequency rank #30,066, classified as anoun. golf is at rank #2,679, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɒlf/.
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 32745, this pair ranks #335,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of goff vs golf
Shared letters: fgo. Private to "goff": -. Private to "golf": l.
"goff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "golf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "goff" for "golf" ever safe?
Which is more common, "goff" or "golf"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "goff" and "golf". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "goff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "golf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "goff" and "golf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "goer vs goff". 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 #335,265 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.