Which to use
“are” is a verb and “arg” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,019
- “are” frequency rank
- #8,984
- “arg” frequency rank
- 13003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | are | arg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs be | böse, schlimm |
Where the eye mixes are and arg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses are with arg
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: are is [ə] while arg is [aʁk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “are” becomes g in “arg”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
are is recorded at frequency rank #4,019, classified as averb, pronounced [ə]. arg is at rank #8,984, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aʁk].
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 13003, this pair ranks #1,960,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of are vs arg
Shared letters: ar. Private to "are": e. Private to "arg": g.
"are" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "arg" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "are" for "arg" ever safe?
Frequency check: "are" vs "arg" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "are" and "arg" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "are" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "are" and "arg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arg vs AUD". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,960,725 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.