Which to use
“ache” and “are” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,397
- “ache” frequency rank
- #19
- “are” frequency rank
- 16416
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ache | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed. | second-person singular simple present of be |
Where the eye mixes ache and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. ache (/ˈeɪk/) and are (/ə(ɹ)/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16416, 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/. are is at rank #19, tagged as averb, pronounced /ə(ɹ)/.
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 16416, this pair ranks #457,868 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ache vs are
Shared letters: ae. Private to "ache": ch. Private to "are": r.
"ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ache ← achhe · ahce · cahe