Which to use
“Adam” is a name and “ade” is a phrase - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,421
- “Adam” frequency rank
- #25,874
- “ade” frequency rank
- 29295
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Adam | ade |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | männlicher Vorname | ehemals viel weiter verbreiteter, jetzt im Fränkischen, Schwäbischen und Oberschwäbischen beliebter Abschiedsgruß |
Where the eye mixes Adam and ade
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Adam with ade
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Adam is [ˈaːdam] while ade is [aˈdeː]. 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 (name vs phrase), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Adam is recorded at frequency rank #3,421, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈaːdam]. ade is at rank #25,874, tagged as aphrase, pronounced [aˈdeː].
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 29295, this pair ranks #1,769,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Adam vs ade
Shared letters: ad. Private to "Adam": m. Private to "ade": e.
"Adam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ade" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Adam ← aadm · adamm · addam · adma · daam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Adam" for "ade" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Adam" vs "ade" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Adam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,769,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Adam" and "ade" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ade 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 #1,769,472 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.