# why vs woe

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### why
*adverb · IPA /wæ/ · frequency rank #125*
For what cause, reason, or purpose.

### woe
*noun · IPA /wəʊ/ · frequency rank #19,509*
Great sadness or distress; a misfortune causing such sadness.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/why-vs-woe