Which to use
“arse” and “awe” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,462
- “arse” frequency rank
- #9,568
- “awe” frequency rank
- 23030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arse | awe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person's buttocks; the bottom, the backside. Also: the anus; the rectum. | A feeling of fear and reverence. |
Where the eye mixes arse and awe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses arse with awe
A purely visual mix-up. arse (/ɑːs/) and awe (/ɔː/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arse is recorded at frequency rank #13,462, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɑːs/. awe is at rank #9,568, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɔː/.
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 23030, this pair ranks #412,233 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arse vs awe
Shared letters: ae. Private to "arse": rs. Private to "awe": w.
"arse" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "awe" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arse ← arrse · arsse · asre · rase
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arse" for "awe" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "arse" or "awe" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "awe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,233 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arse" and "awe" 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 #412,233 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.