Which to use
“acht” is a num and “ash” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #899
- “acht” frequency rank
- #22,623
- “ash” frequency rank
- 23522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acht | ash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Kardinalzahl zwischen sieben und neun | Asche |
Where the eye mixes acht and ash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. acht runs 4 letters (VCCC) against ash's 3 (VCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between acht and ash
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: acht is [axt] while ash is [æʃ]. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acht is recorded at frequency rank #899, classified as anum, pronounced [axt]. ash is at rank #22,623, tagged as anoun, pronounced [æʃ].
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 23522, this pair ranks #1,860,204 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of acht vs ash
Shared letters: ah. Private to "acht": ct. Private to "ash": s.
"acht" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "ash" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- acht ← accht · achht · achtt · acth · ahct · caht
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "acht" and "ash" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "acht" vs "ash" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "acht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,860,204 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acht" and "ash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ash vs AUD". 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 #1,860,204 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.