aesvsassesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,806
“aes” frequency rank
#9,699
“asses” frequency rank
38505
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aes asses
Definition plural of a, the name of the letter A. plural of ass

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aes and asses apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
aes
5 ch
asses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aes (/ˈeɪz/) and asses (/ˈæsɪz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aes is recorded at frequency rank #28,806, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈeɪz/. asses is at rank #9,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæsɪz/.

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 38505, this pair ranks #285,343 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aes vs asses

Shared letters: aes. Private to "aes": -. Private to "asses": -.

"aes" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "asses" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • assesases · assse · sases

Frequency comparison

aes#28,806
asses#9,699

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aes" and "asses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈeɪz/ versus /ˈæsɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aes" or "asses"?
"asses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,699 in our English list, against #28,806 for "aes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aes vs asses

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 “aes” 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