goesvsgooseWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#34,107
“goes” frequency rank
#31,978
“goose” frequency rank
66085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goes goose
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du présent indicatif de go. Oie.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
goes
5 ch
goose

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: goes is \ˈɡoʊz\ while goose is \ɡuːs\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goes is recorded at frequency rank #34,107, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈɡoʊz\. goose is at rank #31,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡuːs\.

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 66085, this pair ranks #69,380 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of goes vs goose

Shared letters: egos. Private to "goes": -. Private to "goose": -.

"goes" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "goose" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • goesgeos · ggoes · goess · oges
  • gooseggoose · gooes · goosse · gosoe · ogose

Frequency comparison

goes#34,107
goose#31,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goes" and "goose" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "goes" is a verb and "goose" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "goes" or "goose"?
"goose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,978 in our French list, against #34,107 for "goes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering goes vs goose

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 “goose”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list