Which to use
“gnome” and “gone” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,461
- “gnome” frequency rank
- #26,383
- “gone” frequency rank
- 53844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gnome | gone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Génie de la terre, laid et de très petite taille, considéré comme le gardien des trésors enfouis, des mines, des pierres précieuses. | Enfant, gosse. |
Where the eye mixes gnome and gone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gnome with gone
A purely visual mix-up. gnome (\ɡnom\) and gone (\ɡɔn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gnome is recorded at frequency rank #27,461, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡnom\. gone is at rank #26,383, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡɔn\.
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 53844, this pair ranks #138,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gnome vs gone
Shared letters: egno. Private to "gnome": m. Private to "gone": -.
"gnome" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "gone" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gnome" for "gone" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gnome" or "gone"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gnome" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gnome" and "gone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glue vs gone". 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 #138,015 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.