pogovspoutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,291
“pogo” frequency rank
#35,889
“pout” frequency rank
72180
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pogo pout
Definition To use a pogo stick. To push out one's lips.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
pogo
4 ch
pout

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pogo (/ˈpəʊɡəʊ/) and pout (/paʊt/) 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 72180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pogo is recorded at frequency rank #36,291, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpəʊɡəʊ/. pout is at rank #35,889, tagged as averb, pronounced /paʊt/.

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 72180, this pair ranks #43,938 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pogo vs pout

Shared letters: op. Private to "pogo": g. Private to "pout": tu.

"pogo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pout" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pogoopgo · pgoo · poggo · poog · ppogo
  • poutoput · potu · poutt · ppout · puot

Frequency comparison

pogo#36,291
pout#35,889

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pogo" and "pout" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpəʊɡəʊ/ versus /paʊt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pogo" or "pout"?
"pout" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,889 in our English list, against #36,291 for "pogo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pogo vs pout

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 “pogo” 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