Which to use
“aba” is a noun and “at” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,003
- “aba” frequency rank
- #21
- “at” frequency rank
- 19024
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aba | at |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A coarse, often striped, felted fabric from the Middle East, woven from goat or camel hair. | In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place). |
Where the eye mixes aba and at
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between aba and at
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aba is /əˈbɑː/ while at is /æt/. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aba is recorded at frequency rank #19,003, classified as anoun, pronounced /əˈbɑː/. at is at rank #21, tagged as aprep, pronounced /æt/.
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 19024, this pair ranks #441,012 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aba vs at
Shared letters: a. Private to "aba": b. Private to "at": t.
"aba" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "at" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aba" and "at" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "aba" vs "at" - 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 "aba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "at" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #441,012 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aba" and "at" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aba vs Asta". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #441,012 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.