abravsammaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“abra” and “amma” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,507
“abra” frequency rank
#37,316
“amma” frequency rank
79823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abra amma
Definition a narrow mountain or mesa pass mother

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abra and amma apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
abra
4 ch
amma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abra (/ˈæbɹə/) and amma (/ˈʌmə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abra is recorded at frequency rank #42,507, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæbɹə/. amma is at rank #37,316, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʌmə/.

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 79823, this pair ranks #21,200 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abra vs amma

Shared letters: a. Private to "abra": br. Private to "amma": m.

"abra" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "amma" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

Frequency comparison

abra#42,507
amma#37,316

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abra" and "amma" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈæbɹə/ versus /ˈʌmə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abra" or "amma"?
"amma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,316 in our English list, against #42,507 for "abra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abra vs amma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abra” 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