Which to use
“goff” and “goop” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,066
- “goff” frequency rank
- #46,488
- “goop” frequency rank
- 76554
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | goff | goop |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete form of golf (“ball game”). | A thick, slimy substance; goo. |
Letter map: goff vs goop
Shared letters muted; letters that set goff and goop apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. goff (CVCC) and goop (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Pair insight - goff / goop
goff and goop 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
goff is recorded at frequency rank #30,066, classified as anoun. goop is at rank #46,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡuːp/.
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 76554, this pair ranks #29,782 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of goff vs goop
Shared letters: go. Private to "goff": f. Private to "goop": p.
"goff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "goop" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "goff" for "goop" ever safe?
Which is more common, "goff" or "goop"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "goff" and "goop".
- Full dictionary entry for "goff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "goop" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,782 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "goff" and "goop" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gogol 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 #29,782 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.