The English language has various homophones. Homophones are words that have completely different spelling and meaning, but their pronunciation is similar or sometimes the same.
Homophones bring confusion in usage. The homophones are difficult to distinguish in speech.
Two such common homophones in English are “No” and “Know”.
Key Takeaways
- No is a negative response, indicating the absence or denial of something, while Know is a verb that means having information about something.
- No is a complete word, whereas Know has two forms: Know and Known.
- No is used to answer a question in the negative, while Know is used to indicate knowledge or understanding.
No vs Know
No is used to indicate a negative response or to indicate the absence of something. Know is used to indicate understanding or awareness of something. No is pronounced with a short o sound and only two letters, while know is pronounced with a long o sound with four letters.
No is a strong exclamation and expression. It can act as a stand-alone response to a larger question or sentence.
It can be used in the context of a negative response or decision. No also denotes a lack of knowledge or awareness according to the context or situation where the term is used.
No is also used as an interjection in English Grammar.
On the other hand, Know means to be aware or have knowledge about something or someone. It also implies being certain about someone or something.
The past tense of know is known. The auxiliary or helping verb of know is “known”.
The gerund form of the word knows is “knowing.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | No | Know |
|---|---|---|
| Type | It is used as a noun, adverb, determiner, and exclamation | It is used as a verb |
| Definition | A negative answer, response, or decision | To have knowledge or to be aware of something or someone. The word also means to be acquainted with or familiar with something or someone |
| Function | Used in context to negate something or someone | Used in context to depict knowledge or awareness about something or someone |
| Antonyms | Yes | Forget, ignore, dismiss |
| Idioms | In the know, know by heart | A no-no |
What is No?
No is a noun, adverb, determiner, and exclamation. The word “no” cannot be used as a verb in the English language ever.
The word “no” portrays a piece of negative information. It is used in sentences to negate another word.
When no is used with a noun, it can change the noun into a manner that is negative in characteristic.
No is the antonym of the word yes. The word can also mean not any or hardly any.
No is also used to denote the opposite of something. Example sentence “He is no genius”.
No is used in the context of rules which forbid specific actions or behaviour. Examples – “No parking here”, “No smoking near the gate”, or “No animals allowed”.
No is a strong exclamation and expression. It can act as a stand-alone response to a larger question or sentence.
It can be used in the context of a negative response or decision. No also denotes a lack of knowledge or awareness according to the context or situation where the term is used.
No is also used as an interjection in English Grammar.
Some exemplary sentences – “I’ll leave in no time”, “Oh no! My drink fell”,
“Was the movie interesting? No, it wasn’t”, “She said no to the offer”, “He said no to food”, “No, I will tell him the truth immediately”, and “No reader can complete every book on this planet”.
What is Know?
Know is a verb in the English language. It means to be aware or have knowledge of something or someone.
It also implies being sure about someone or something.
Know means to be acquainted with the context of the term or to be familiar. Know also means to recognize something or someone easily.
Some exemplar sentences to depict different moods of the term “know” are “I know some trouble is going to happen”, “I know it is her birthday today”, “I know that the fruits are kept in the refrigerator “,
“Do you know that Mrs Smith teaches us English? “, “She knows this poem by heart”, “His father knows what he is doing”, or “She knows three languages – English, French and Chinese”.
The past tense of know is known. It denotes things that have already happened. The auxiliary or helping verb of know is “known”.
It denotes a hypothetical or shades of time from the past. The gerund form of the word knows is “knowing and can be used as a subject.
Other verbs like comprehend, understand or recognize can easily substitute the word know in the sentence. This substitution method can be used to remember the correct usage of the word knows.
If it cannot be replaced or substituted by another verb, then probably know is not the correct term for usage.
Main Differences Between No and Know
- No is used as a noun, adverb, determiner, and exclamation, while know is used only as a verb in English.
- The Old English word for No is Ne, while the Old English word for Know is Cnāwan.
- No denotes a negative meaning, while Know does not denote any negative meaning.
- The antonym of no is yes, while the antonym of know is forgotten, ignored, and dismissed.
- No can depict a lack of knowledge or awareness, while Know can depict the presence of knowledge or awareness.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=NxvnAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=no+and+know&ots=k9gBTzaUqf&sig=8wWOuGQFwL0jVKcDyNqKHebDvvQ
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0193841×9802200102
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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I couldn’t say it better! I couldn’t stop reading!
What a great research. Nice job!
Great, but it lacks some essential details.
I knew all of this already. Seems pointless.
There are some mistakes here and there.