gemvsgoesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gem is a noun, goes is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gem” is a noun and “goes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,343
“gem” frequency rank
#32,232
“goes” frequency rank
77575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gem goes
Definition Gema. Tercera persona del singular (he, she, it) del presente simple del verbo (to) go.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gem and goes apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
gem
4 ch
goes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gem is [ˈjɛmː] while goes is /ɡəʊz/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gem is recorded at frequency rank #45,343, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈjɛmː]. goes is at rank #32,232, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡəʊz/.

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 77575, this pair ranks #15,798 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gem vs goes

Shared letters: eg. Private to "gem": m. Private to "goes": os.

"gem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "goes" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • goesgeos · ggoes · goess · gose · oges

Frequency comparison

gem#45,343
goes#32,232

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gem" and "goes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gem" is a noun and "goes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gem" or "goes"?
"goes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,232 in our Spanish list, against #45,343 for "gem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gem vs goes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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