Which to use
“govern” is a verb and “governor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,709
- “govern” frequency rank
- #1,998
- “governor” frequency rank
- 13707
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | govern | governor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in. | The chief executive officer of a first-level administrative division of a country. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set govern and governor apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: govern is /ˈɡʌv.ən/ while governor is /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “govern” sits inside “governor”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
govern is recorded at frequency rank #11,709, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡʌv.ən/. governor is at rank #1,998, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə(ɹ)/.
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 13707, this pair ranks #474,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of govern vs governor
Shared letters: egnorv. Private to "govern": -. Private to "governor": -.
"govern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "governor" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "govern" and "governor" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "govern" or "governor"?
Remembering govern vs governor
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “govern”; for a noun, it's “governor”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “govern” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable