Which to use
“again” is an adverb and “attain” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #189
- “again” frequency rank
- #12,908
- “attain” frequency rank
- 13097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | again | attain |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Another time: indicating a repeat of an action. | To gain (an object or desired result). |
Where the eye mixes again and attain
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses again with attain
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: again is /əˈɡɛn/ while attain is /əˈteɪn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
again is recorded at frequency rank #189, classified as anadv, pronounced /əˈɡɛn/. attain is at rank #12,908, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈteɪn/.
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 13097, this pair ranks #477,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of again vs attain
Shared letters: ain. Private to "again": g. Private to "attain": t.
"again" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "attain" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "again" and "attain" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "again" or "attain"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "again" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "attain" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "again" and "attain" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "attain vs attains". 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 #477,787 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.