goosevsgotsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: goose is a noun, gots is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“goose” is a noun and “gots” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,048
“goose” frequency rank
#41,153
“gots” frequency rank
50201
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goose gots
Definition Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks. Has, has got (3rd person singular).

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
goose
4 ch
gots

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: goose is anoun and gotsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goose is recorded at frequency rank #9,048, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡuːs/. gots is at rank #41,153, tagged as averb.

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 50201, this pair ranks #176,427 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of goose vs gots

Shared letters: gos. Private to "goose": e. Private to "gots": t.

"goose" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "gots" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gooseggoose · gooes · goosse · gosoe · ogose
  • gotsggots · gost · gotss · gotts · gtos · ogts

Frequency comparison

goose#9,048
gots#41,153

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goose" and "gots" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "goose" is a noun and "gots" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "goose" or "gots"?
"goose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,048 in our English list, against #41,153 for "gots". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering goose vs gots

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “goose”; for a verb, it's “gots”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “goose” 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