Which to use
“ait” is a noun and “ake” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,716
- “ait” frequency rank
- #46,292
- “ake” frequency rank
- 85008
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ait | ake |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An island in a river, especially the River Thames in England. | Obsolete spelling of ache. |
Where the eye mixes ait and ake
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ait (VVC) and ake (VCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ait with ake
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ait is /eɪt/ while ake is /eɪk/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ait is recorded at frequency rank #38,716, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪt/. ake is at rank #46,292, tagged as averb, pronounced /eɪk/.
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 85008, this pair ranks #11,110 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ait vs ake
Shared letters: a. Private to "ait": it. Private to "ake": ek.
"ait" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ait" for "ake" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ait" vs "ake" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ake" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,110 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ait" and "ake" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs amb". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,110 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.