Which to use
“are” is a verb and “ass” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19
- “are” frequency rank
- #1,065
- “ass” frequency rank
- 1084
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | are | ass |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | second-person singular simple present of be | Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden. |
Where the eye mixes are and ass
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: are vs ass
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: are is /ə(ɹ)/ while ass is /æs/. 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 1084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
are is recorded at frequency rank #19, classified as averb, pronounced /ə(ɹ)/. ass is at rank #1,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced /æs/.
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 1084, this pair ranks #528,140 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of are vs ass
Shared letters: a. Private to "are": er. Private to "ass": s.
"are" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ass" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "are" and "ass" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "are" vs "ass" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "are" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #528,140 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "are" and "ass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ass vs Asta". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #528,140 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.