getsvsgoesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#46,785
“gets” frequency rank
#34,107
“goes” frequency rank
80892
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gets goes
Definition Pluriel de get. Troisième personne du singulier du présent indicatif de go.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gets and goes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gets
4 ch
goes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gets is \ˈɡɛts\ while goes is \ˈɡoʊz\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gets is recorded at frequency rank #46,785, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈɡɛts\. goes is at rank #34,107, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈɡoʊz\.

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 80892, this pair ranks #19,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gets vs goes

Shared letters: egs. Private to "gets": t. Private to "goes": o.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • getsegts · gest · getss · getts · ggets · gtes
  • goesgeos · ggoes · goess · oges

Frequency comparison

gets#46,785
goes#34,107

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gets" and "goes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gets" is a noun and "goes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gets" or "goes"?
"goes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,107 in our French list, against #46,785 for "gets". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gets vs goes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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