aahvsakeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aah is a intj, ake is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aah” is an intj and “ake” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,411
“aah” frequency rank
#46,292
“ake” frequency rank
82703
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aah ake
Definition Indication of amazement or surprise or enthusiasm. Obsolete spelling of ache.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aah and ake apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
aah
3 ch
ake

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: aah is anintj and akeaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aah is recorded at frequency rank #36,411, classified as anintj. ake is at rank #46,292, tagged as averb, pronounced /eɪk/.

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 82703, this pair ranks #15,239 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aah vs ake

Shared letters: a. Private to "aah": h. Private to "ake": ek.

"aah" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

aah#36,411
ake#46,292

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aah" and "ake" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aah" is an intj and "ake" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aah" or "ake"?
"aah" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,411 in our English list, against #46,292 for "ake". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aah vs ake

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “aah”; for a verb, it's “ake”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aah” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list