goesvsgongWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#32,232
“goes” frequency rank
#22,032
“gong” frequency rank
54264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goes gong
Definition Tercera persona del singular (he, she, it) del presente simple del verbo (to) go. Instrumento de percusión que consiste en un disco metálico suspendido en el aire, el cual es golpeado con una maza.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
goes
4 ch
gong

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: goes is /ɡəʊz/ while gong is [ˈgõŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goes is recorded at frequency rank #32,232, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡəʊz/. gong is at rank #22,032, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgõŋ].

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 54264, this pair ranks #84,102 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of goes vs gong

Shared letters: go. Private to "goes": es. Private to "gong": n.

"goes" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "gong" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • goesgeos · ggoes · goess · gose · oges
  • gongggong · gnog · gogn · gongg · gonng · ogng

Frequency comparison

goes#32,232
gong#22,032

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goes" and "gong" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "goes" is a verb and "gong" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "goes" or "gong"?
"gong" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,032 in our Spanish list, against #32,232 for "goes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering goes vs gong

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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