# ahem vs APEC

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### ahem
*intj · IPA /əˈhɛm/ · frequency rank #20,828*
The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.

### APEC
*name · frequency rank #42,524*
A regional trade agreement between Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan (under the name Chinese Taipei), Hong Kong, the US, and members of ASEAN.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ahem-vs-apec