Which to use
“wo” is an adverb and “wood” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,341
- “wo” frequency rank
- #18,745
- “wood” frequency rank
- 40086
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wo | wood |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | onde | madeira; lenha |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wo and wood apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wo is /voː/ while wood is /wʊd/, enPR: wo͝od. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “wo” sits inside “wood”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wo is recorded at frequency rank #21,341, classified as anadv, pronounced /voː/. wood is at rank #18,745, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wʊd/, enPR: wo͝od.
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 40086, this pair ranks #26,075 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wo vs wood
Shared letters: ow. Private to "wo": -. Private to "wood": d.
"wo" · 2 letters · shape CV · "wood" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wood ← owod · wod · wodo · woodd · wwood
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wo" and "wood" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wo" or "wood"?
Remembering wo vs wood
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “wo”; for a noun, it's “wood”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wo” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable