Which to use
“aced” and “ache” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,285
- “aced” frequency rank
- #16,397
- “ache” frequency rank
- 62682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aced | ache |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of ace | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. |
Where the eye mixes aced and ache
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. aced (VCVC) and ache (VCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: aced vs ache
A purely visual mix-up. aced (/eɪst/) and ache (/ˈeɪk/) 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 62682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aced is recorded at frequency rank #46,285, classified as averb, pronounced /eɪst/. ache is at rank #16,397, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈeɪk/.
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 62682, this pair ranks #87,106 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aced vs ache
Shared letters: ace. Private to "aced": d. Private to "ache": h.
"aced" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aced" for "ache" ever safe?
Frequency check: "aced" vs "ache" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aced" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ache" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,106 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aced" and "ache" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aced vs ake". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #87,106 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.