Which to use
“ahoy” is an intj and “amok” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,107
- “ahoy” frequency rank
- #38,278
- “amok” frequency rank
- 78385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ahoy | amok |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention. | Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ahoy and amok apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ahoy is /əˈhɔɪ/ while amok is /əˈmɒk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ahoy is recorded at frequency rank #40,107, classified as anintj, pronounced /əˈhɔɪ/. amok is at rank #38,278, tagged as anadv, pronounced /əˈmɒk/.
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 78385, this pair ranks #24,782 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ahoy vs amok
Shared letters: ao. Private to "ahoy": hy. Private to "amok": km.
"ahoy" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "amok" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ahoy" and "amok" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ahoy" or "amok"?
Remembering ahoy vs amok
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “ahoy”; for an adverb, it's “amok”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ahoy” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable