adavsAdamsConfusable pair

Quick tell: ada is a verb, Adams is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ada” is a verb and “Adams” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,733
“ada” frequency rank
#10,797
“Adams” frequency rank
37530
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ada Adams
Definition existieren; vorhanden sein Genitiv Singular des Substantivs, Vornamen, Eigennamen, Nachnamen Adam

Where the eye mixes ada and Adams

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
ada
5 ch
Adams

Why the eye confuses ada with Adams

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ada is [ˈada] while Adams is [ˈaːdams]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ada” sits inside “Adams”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ada is recorded at frequency rank #26,733, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈada]. Adams is at rank #10,797, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈaːdams].

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 37530, this pair ranks #1,587,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ada vs Adams

Shared letters: ad. Private to "ada": -. Private to "Adams": ms.

"ada" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "Adams" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Adamsaadms · adamms · adamss · adasm · addams · admas · daams

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ada" and "Adams" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ada" is a verb and "Adams" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "ada" vs "Adams" - which ranks higher?
"Adams" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,797 in our German list, against #26,733 for "ada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Adams" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,587,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ada" and "Adams" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ada 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 #1,587,816 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list