Which to use
“auld” is an adjective and “auth” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,071
- “auld” frequency rank
- #30,696
- “auth” frequency rank
- 61767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auld | auth |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Old. | Abbreviation of authentication. |
Letter map: auld vs auth
Shared letters muted; letters that set auld and auth apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Part-of-speech tell for auld / auth
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: auld is anadjective and authanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auld is recorded at frequency rank #31,071, classified as anadj, pronounced /oʊld/. auth is at rank #30,696, tagged as anoun.
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 61767, this pair ranks #92,351 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of auld vs auth
Shared letters: au. Private to "auld": dl. Private to "auth": ht.
"auld" · 4 letters · shape VVCC · "auth" · 4 letters · shape VVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "auld" for "auth" ever safe?
Frequency check: "auld" vs "auth" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "auld" and "auth".
- Full dictionary entry for "auld" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auth" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,351 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auld" and "auth" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alc vs auld". 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 #92,351 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.