Which to use
“wok” is a noun and “worn” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,773
- “wok” frequency rank
- #4,644
- “worn” frequency rank
- 42417
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wok | worn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large, round-bottomed cooking pan used in East Asian cooking. | Damaged and shabby as a result of much use. |
Where the eye mixes wok and worn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wok with worn
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wok is /wɒk/ while worn is /wɔːn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42417, 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/. worn is at rank #4,644, tagged as anadj, pronounced /wɔːn/.
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 42417, this pair ranks #249,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wok vs worn
Shared letters: ow. Private to "wok": k. Private to "worn": nr.
"wok" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "worn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- worn ← owrn · wonr · wornn · worrn · wron · wworn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wok" for "worn" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "wok" or "worn" show up more?
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 "worn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wok" and "worn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wok vs wove". 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 #249,405 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.