Which to use
“ake” is a verb and “alc” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,292
- “ake” frequency rank
- #49,757
- “alc” frequency rank
- 96049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ake | alc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete spelling of ache. | Abbreviation of alcohol. |
Letter map: ake vs alc
Shared letters muted; letters that set ake and alc apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. ake (VCV) and alc (VCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Part-of-speech tell for ake / alc
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ake is averb and alcanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96049, 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/. alc is at rank #49,757, tagged as anoun.
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 96049, this pair ranks #715 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ake vs alc
Shared letters: a. Private to "ake": ek. Private to "alc": cl.
"ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "alc" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ake" and "alc" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ake" or "alc"?
What to do next
You've compared "ake" and "alc". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "ake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #715 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ake" and "alc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alc vs amb". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #715 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.