Which to use
“are” is a verb and “axe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19
- “are” frequency rank
- #9,703
- “axe” frequency rank
- 9722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | are | axe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | second-person singular simple present of be | A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it. |
Where the eye mixes are and axe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: are vs axe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: are is /ə(ɹ)/ while axe is /æks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “are” becomes x in “axe”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9722, 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)/. axe is at rank #9,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced /æks/.
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 9722, this pair ranks #495,943 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of are vs axe
Shared letters: ae. Private to "are": r. Private to "axe": x.
"are" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "axe" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "are" and "axe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "are" or "axe" show up more?
What to do next
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 "axe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,943 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "are" and "axe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amb vs axe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #495,943 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.