knovsknowWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“kno” and “know” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,851
“kno” frequency rank
#84
“know” frequency rank
48935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kno know
Definition Informal spelling of know. To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of; to be certain that.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
kno
4 ch
know

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

kno and know 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 extra letter(s) - “kno” sits inside “know”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kno is recorded at frequency rank #48,851, classified as averb. know is at rank #84, tagged as averb, pronounced /nəʊ/.

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 48935, this pair ranks #188,404 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kno vs know

Shared letters: kno. Private to "kno": -. Private to "know": w.

"kno" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "know" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • knowkknow · knnow · knoww · knwo · konw · nkow

Frequency comparison

kno#48,851
know#84

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kno" and "know" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “kno” sits inside “know”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "kno" or "know"?
"know" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #84 in our English list, against #48,851 for "kno". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering kno vs know

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kno” 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