Which to use
“governed” and “governs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,936
- “governed” frequency rank
- #23,847
- “governs” frequency rank
- 32783
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | governed | governs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of govern | third-person singular simple present indicative of govern |
Letter map: governed vs governs
Shared letters muted; letters that set governed and governs apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. governed runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against governs's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: governed and governs
governed and governs 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
governed is recorded at frequency rank #8,936, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡəvɚnd/. governs is at rank #23,847, 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 32783, this pair ranks #334,941 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of governed vs governs
Shared letters: egnorv. Private to "governed": d. Private to "governs": s.
"governed" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "governs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "governed" for "governs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "governed" vs "governs" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "governed" and "governs".
- Full dictionary entry for "governed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "governs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #334,941 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "governed" and "governs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "givens vs governs". 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 #334,941 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.