gonevsgoodeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#693
“gone” frequency rank
#30,067
“goode” frequency rank
30760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gone goode
Definition past participle of go Obsolete spelling of good.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gone and goode apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gone
5 ch
goode

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gone and goode form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gone is recorded at frequency rank #693, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɒn/. 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 30760, this pair ranks #351,791 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

gone#693
goode#30,067

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gone" and "goode" be used interchangeably?
No, "gone" and "goode" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gone vs goode

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gone”; for an adjective, it's “goode”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gone” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list