Which to use
“ache” and “ake” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,397
- “ache” frequency rank
- #46,292
- “ake” frequency rank
- 62689
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ache | ake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. | Obsolete spelling of ache. |
Same sound, different letters: ache vs ake
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters. ache runs 4 letters (VCCV) against ake's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - ache and ake
This is the hard kind. ache and ake are pronounced identically (/ˈeɪk/) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ache is recorded at frequency rank #16,397, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈeɪk/. 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 62689, this pair ranks #87,073 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ache vs ake
Shared letters: ae. Private to "ache": ch. Private to "ake": k.
"ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ache ← achhe · ahce · cahe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ache" and "ake" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ache" or "ake"?
Useful next steps
"ache" and "ake" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "ache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,073 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ache" and "ake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs amb". 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 #87,073 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.