VigovsvigourWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Vigo is a name, vigour is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Vigo” is a name and “vigour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,507
“Vigo” frequency rank
#34,339
“vigour” frequency rank
74846
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vigo vigour
Definition A number of places: Active strength or force of body or mind; a capacity for exertion, physically, intellectually, or morally; energy.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vigo and vigour apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Vigo
6 ch
vigour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vigo is /ˈviːɡəʊ/ while vigour is /ˈvɪɡə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Vigo” sits inside “vigour”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vigo is recorded at frequency rank #40,507, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈviːɡəʊ/. vigour is at rank #34,339, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɪɡə/.

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 74846, this pair ranks #35,037 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Vigo vs vigour

Shared letters: giov. Private to "Vigo": -. Private to "vigour": ru.

"Vigo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "vigour" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vigoivgo · vgio · viggo · viog · vvigo
  • vigourivgour · vgiour · viggour · vigoru · vigourr · viguor · viogur · vvigour

Frequency comparison

Vigo#40,507
vigour#34,339

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vigo" and "vigour" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vigo" is a name and "vigour" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vigo" or "vigour"?
"vigour" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,339 in our English list, against #40,507 for "Vigo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Vigo vs vigour

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Vigo”; for a noun, it's “vigour”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Vigo” 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