ake vs API, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ake” is a verb and “API” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,292
“ake” frequency rank: #11,501
“API” frequency rank: 57793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ake	API
Definition	Obsolete spelling of ache.	Initialism of active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Where the eye mixes ake and API

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

ake

3 ch

API

Visual trap between ake and API

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ake is /eɪk/ while API is /ˌeɪˌpiˈaɪ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57793, 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/. API is at rank #11,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌeɪˌpiˈaɪ/.

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 57793, this pair ranks #116,912 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ake vs API

Shared letters: a. Private to "ake": ek. Private to "API": ip.

"ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "API" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ake" for "API" ever safe?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ake" is a verb and "API" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Frequency check: "ake" vs "API" - which ranks higher?

"API" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,501 in our English list, against #46,292 for "ake". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

Full dictionary entry for "ake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "API" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #116,912 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"ake" and "API" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs amb". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #116,912 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.