Which to use
“knits” and “knows” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,146
- “knits” frequency rank
- #906
- “knows” frequency rank
- 48052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | knits | knows |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of knit | third-person singular simple present indicative of know |
Where the eye mixes knits and knows
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. knits and knows follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: knits vs knows
A purely visual mix-up. knits (/nɪts/) and knows (/nəʊz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
knits is recorded at frequency rank #47,146, classified as averb, pronounced /nɪts/. knows is at rank #906, tagged as averb, pronounced /nəʊz/.
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 48052, this pair ranks #196,753 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of knits vs knows
Shared letters: kns. Private to "knits": it. Private to "knows": ow.
"knits" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "knows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "knits" and "knows" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "knits" vs "knows" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "knits" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "knows" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,753 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "knits" and "knows" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "knits vs Knott". 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 #196,753 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.