Which to use
“wok” is a noun and “won” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,773
- “wok” frequency rank
- #646
- “won” frequency rank
- 38419
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wok | won |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large, round-bottomed cooking pan used in East Asian cooking. | simple past and past participle of win |
Where the eye mixes wok and won
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wok and won
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wok is /wɒk/ while won is /wʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - k in “wok” becomes n in “won”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38419, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wok is recorded at frequency rank #37,773, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɒk/. won is at rank #646, tagged as averb, pronounced /wʌn/.
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 38419, this pair ranks #286,084 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wok vs won
Shared letters: ow. Private to "wok": k. Private to "won": n.
"wok" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "won" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wok" and "won" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wok" vs "won" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wok" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "won" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #286,084 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wok" and "won" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wok vs wove". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #286,084 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.