kojivskookWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,016
“koji” frequency rank
#43,741
“kook” frequency rank
89757
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature koji kook
Definition A substance that is produced by letting a mold, especially Aspergillus oryzae, grow on rice, barley, soybeans, etc., used to make fermented products such as sake, amazake, miso, and soy sauce. An eccentric, strange or crazy person.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set koji and kook apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
koji
4 ch
kook

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. koji (/ˈkoʊd͡ʒi/) and kook (/kuːk/) 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 89757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

koji is recorded at frequency rank #46,016, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkoʊd͡ʒi/. kook is at rank #43,741, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kuːk/.

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 89757, this pair ranks #4,838 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of koji vs kook

Shared letters: ko. Private to "koji": ij. Private to "kook": -.

"koji" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "kook" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kojikjoi · kkoji · koij · kojji · okji
  • kookkkook · kookk · okok

Frequency comparison

koji#46,016
kook#43,741

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "koji" and "kook" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkoʊd͡ʒi/ versus /kuːk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "koji" or "kook"?
"kook" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #43,741 in our English list, against #46,016 for "koji". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering koji vs kook

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 “koji” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list