Which to use
“arms” and “arse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,591
- “arms” frequency rank
- #13,462
- “arse” frequency rank
- 15053
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arms | arse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Weaponry, weapons. | A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Also: the anus; the rectum. |
Where the eye mixes arms and arse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between arms and arse
A purely visual mix-up. arms (/ɑɹmz/) and arse (/ɑːs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arms is recorded at frequency rank #1,591, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɑɹmz/. arse is at rank #13,462, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɑːs/.
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 15053, this pair ranks #466,337 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arms vs arse
Shared letters: ars. Private to "arms": m. Private to "arse": e.
"arms" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "arse" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arms" and "arse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "arms" or "arse"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arms" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #466,337 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arms" and "arse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arco vs arse". 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 #466,337 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.