Which to use
“able” is an adjective and “axe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,552
- “able” frequency rank
- #45,148
- “axe” frequency rank
- 83700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | able | axe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in der Lage sein; etwas tun können | die Axt, das Beil |
Where the eye mixes able and axe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between able and axe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: able is [ˈeɪbl] while axe is [æks]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83700, 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]. axe is at rank #45,148, tagged as anoun, pronounced [æks].
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 83700, this pair ranks #135,592 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of able vs axe
Shared letters: ae. Private to "able": bl. Private to "axe": x.
"able" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "axe" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- able ← abble · ablle · albe · bale
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "able" for "axe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "able" or "axe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "able" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "axe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,592 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "able" and "axe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "AUD vs axe". 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 #135,592 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.