Which to use
“ahem” is an intj and “are” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,828
- “ahem” frequency rank
- #19
- “are” frequency rank
- 20847
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ahem | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat. | second-person singular simple present of be |
Where the eye mixes ahem and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ahem with are
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ahem is /əˈhɛm/ while are is /ə(ɹ)/. 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 (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ahem is recorded at frequency rank #20,828, classified as anintj, pronounced /əˈhɛm/. 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 20847, this pair ranks #428,231 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ahem vs are
Shared letters: ae. Private to "ahem": hm. Private to "are": r.
"ahem" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ahem ← aehm · ahemm · ahhem · ahme · haem
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ahem" for "are" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ahem" vs "are" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ahem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,231 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ahem" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ahem vs APM". 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 #428,231 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.