Which to use
“gots” is a verb and “gow” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,153
- “gots” frequency rank
- #42,161
- “gow” frequency rank
- 83314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gots | gow |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Has, has got (3rd person singular). | Opium. |
Letter map: gots vs gow
Shared letters muted; letters that set gots and gow apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - gots and gow
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: gots is averb and gowanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gots is recorded at frequency rank #41,153, classified as averb. gow is at rank #42,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡaʊ/.
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 83314, this pair ranks #14,071 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gots vs gow
Shared letters: go. Private to "gots": st. Private to "gow": w.
"gots" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "gow" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gots ← ggots · gost · gotss · gotts · gtos · ogts
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gots" and "gow" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "gots" or "gow" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "gots" and "gow".
- Full dictionary entry for "gots" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,071 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gots" and "gow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gnaw vs gow". 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 #14,071 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.