mojovsmowConfusable pair

Quick tell: mojo is a noun, mow is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mojo” is a noun and “mow” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,142
“mojo” frequency rank
#25,486
“mow” frequency rank
44628
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mojo mow
Definition A magic spell or hex. To cut down grass or crops.

Where the eye mixes mojo and mow

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mojo
3 ch
mow

Visual trap between mojo and mow

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mojo is /ˈmoʊd͡ʒoʊ/ while mow is /məʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44628, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mojo is recorded at frequency rank #19,142, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmoʊd͡ʒoʊ/. mow is at rank #25,486, tagged as averb, pronounced /məʊ/.

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 44628, this pair ranks #228,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mojo vs mow

Shared letters: mo. Private to "mojo": j. Private to "mow": w.

"mojo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mow" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mojomjoo · mmojo · mojjo · mooj · omjo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mojo" for "mow" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mojo" is a noun and "mow" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mojo" or "mow"?
"mojo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,142 in our English list, against #25,486 for "mow". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mojo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #228,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mojo" and "mow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moog vs mow". 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 #228,795 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list