goovsgoûtsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“goo” and “goûts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,194
“goo” frequency rank
#5,458
“goûts” frequency rank
51652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goo goûts
Definition Substance liquide ou semi-liquide ; en particulier, liquide plus ou moins visqueux, poisseux ou glissant, ou bien fluide corporel. Jaja. Pluriel de goût.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
goo
5 ch
goûts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. goo and goûts are pronounced identically (\ɡuː\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goo is recorded at frequency rank #46,194, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡuː\. goûts is at rank #5,458, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡu\.

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 51652, this pair ranks #153,421 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of goo vs goûts

Shared letters: go. Private to "goo": -. Private to "goûts": stû.

"goo" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "goûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Frequency comparison

goo#46,194
goûts#5,458

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goo" and "goûts" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɡuː\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "goo" or "goûts"?
"goûts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,458 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 goo vs goûts

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “goo” 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