Which to use
“ans” is a noun and “ate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,263
- “ans” frequency rank
- #3,999
- “ate” frequency rank
- 23262
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ans | ate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of an | simple past of eat |
Where the eye mixes ans and ate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ans and ate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ans is /ˈænz/ while ate is /eɪt/. 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 23262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ans is recorded at frequency rank #19,263, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈænz/. ate is at rank #3,999, tagged as averb, pronounced /eɪt/.
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 23262, this pair ranks #410,597 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ans vs ate
Shared letters: a. Private to "ans": ns. Private to "ate": et.
"ans" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ate" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ans" for "ate" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "ans" or "ate" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ans" and "ate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #410,597 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ans" and "ate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amb vs ans". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #410,597 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.