Which to use
“spoke” and “spook” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,465
- “spoke” frequency rank
- #33,857
- “spook” frequency rank
- 36322
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spoke | spook |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A support structure that connects the axle or the hub of a wheel to the rim. | A ghost or phantom. |
Where the eye mixes spoke and spook
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. spoke (CCVCV) and spook (CCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: spoke vs spook
A purely visual mix-up. spoke (/spəʊk/) and spook (/spuːk/) 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 36322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spoke is recorded at frequency rank #2,465, classified as anoun, pronounced /spəʊk/. spook is at rank #33,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced /spuːk/.
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 36322, this pair ranks #304,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spoke vs spook
Shared letters: kops. Private to "spoke": e. Private to "spook": -.
"spoke" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "spook" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spoke" for "spook" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spoke" vs "spook" - which ranks higher?
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 "spoke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spook" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spoke" and "spook" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "smock vs spook". 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 #304,127 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.