Which to use
“ake” and “asked” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,292
- “ake” frequency rank
- #499
- “asked” frequency rank
- 46791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ake | asked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete spelling of ache. | simple past and past participle of ask |
Where the eye mixes ake and asked
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ake vs asked
A purely visual mix-up. ake (/eɪk/) and asked (/ˈɑːskt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46791, 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/. asked is at rank #499, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɑːskt/.
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 46791, this pair ranks #208,437 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ake vs asked
Shared letters: aek. Private to "ake": -. Private to "asked": ds.
"ake" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "asked" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- asked ← aksed · asekd · askde · askedd · askked · assked · saked
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ake" and "asked" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ake" vs "asked" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "asked" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #208,437 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ake" and "asked" 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 #208,437 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.