Which to use
“ake” is a verb and “akin” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,292
- “ake” frequency rank
- #11,160
- “akin” frequency rank
- 57452
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ake | akin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete spelling of ache. | Of persons, of the same kin; related by blood. |
Where the eye mixes ake and akin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ake and akin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ake is /eɪk/ while akin is /əˈkɪn/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ake is recorded at frequency rank #46,292, classified as averb, pronounced /eɪk/. akin is at rank #11,160, tagged as anadj, pronounced /əˈkɪn/.
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 57452, this pair ranks #119,196 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ake vs akin
Shared letters: ak. Private to "ake": e. Private to "akin": in.
"ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "akin" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- akin ← aikn · akinn · akkin · akni
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ake" and "akin" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ake" vs "akin" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "akin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,196 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ake" and "akin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs amb". 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 #119,196 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.