gesvsgooWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ges is a pronoun, goo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ges” is a pronoun and “goo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,144
“ges” frequency rank
#46,194
“goo” frequency rank
63338
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ges goo
Definition Contraction de ge les (« je les »). Substance liquide ou semi-liquide ; en particulier, liquide plus ou moins visqueux, poisseux ou glissant, ou bien fluide corporel. Jaja.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ges and goo apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ges
3 ch
goo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ges is apronoun and gooanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ges is recorded at frequency rank #17,144, classified as apron. goo is at rank #46,194, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡuː\.

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 63338, this pair ranks #82,451 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ges vs goo

Shared letters: g. Private to "ges": es. Private to "goo": o.

"ges" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "goo" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

ges#17,144
goo#46,194

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ges" and "goo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ges" is a pronoun and "goo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ges" or "goo"?
"ges" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,144 in our French list, against #46,194 for "goo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ges vs goo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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