Which to use
“able” is an adjective and “are” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,552
- “able” frequency rank
- #4,019
- “are” frequency rank
- 42571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | able | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in der Lage sein; etwas tun können | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs be |
Where the eye mixes able and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses able with are
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: able is [ˈeɪbl] while are is [ə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
able is recorded at frequency rank #38,552, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeɪbl]. are is at rank #4,019, tagged as averb, pronounced [ə].
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 42571, this pair ranks #1,445,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of able vs are
Shared letters: ae. Private to "able": bl. Private to "are": r.
"able" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- able ← abble · ablle · albe · bale
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "able" for "are" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "able" or "are" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "able" and "are" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "able" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,445,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "able" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "able vs Atze". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,445,264 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.