wokvswordWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,603
“wok” frequency rank
#13,941
“word” frequency rank
55544
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wok word
Definition Ustensile de cuisson de forme hémisphérique, comparable à, mais plus profond qu'une grande poêle. Mot.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
wok
4 ch
word

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wok (\wɔk\) and word (\ˈwɝd\) 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 55544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wok is recorded at frequency rank #41,603, classified as anoun, pronounced \wɔk\. word is at rank #13,941, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝd\.

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 55544, this pair ranks #126,829 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wok vs word

Shared letters: ow. Private to "wok": k. Private to "word": dr.

"wok" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wordowrd · wodr · wordd · worrd · wrod · wword

Frequency comparison

wok#41,603
word#13,941

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wok" and "word" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\wɔk\ versus \ˈwɝd\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wok" or "word"?
"word" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,941 in our French list, against #41,603 for "wok". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wok vs word

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 “wok” 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