apavsasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“apa” and “as” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,025
“apa” frequency rank
#2,232
“as” frequency rank
17257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apa as
Definition Säugetier aus der Unterordnung Anthropoidea in der Ordnung der Primaten; Affe umgangssprachlich:

Where the eye mixes apa and as

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
apa
2 ch
as

Visual trap between apa and as

A purely visual mix-up. apa ([ˈɑpɑ]) and as ([aːs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apa is recorded at frequency rank #15,025, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɑpɑ]. as is at rank #2,232, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aːs].

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 17257, this pair ranks #1,928,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of apa vs as

Shared letters: a. Private to "apa": p. Private to "as": s.

"apa" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "as" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "apa" and "as" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɑpɑ] versus [aːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apa" or "as"?
"as" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,232 in our German list, against #15,025 for "apa". 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 "apa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "as" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apa" and "as" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apa vs AUD". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,928,996 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