abrevsaceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: abre is a verb, ace is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“abre” is a verb and “ace” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,099
“abre” frequency rank
#16,245
“ace” frequency rank
18344
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abre ace
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse. En el tenis y otros deportes similares, y en el vóley, tanto que se gana con el saque y sin que el rival pueda tocar la pelota.

Where the eye mixes abre and ace

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
abre
3 ch
ace

Visual trap between abre and ace

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abre is [ˈaβ̞ɾe] while ace is [ˈase]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18344, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abre is recorded at frequency rank #2,099, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ɾe]. ace is at rank #16,245, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈase].

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 18344, this pair ranks #268,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abre vs ace

Shared letters: ae. Private to "abre": br. Private to "ace": c.

"abre" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ace" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abreabbre · abrre · arbe · avre · bare

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abre" and "ace" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abre" is a verb and "ace" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abre" or "ace"?
"abre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,099 in our Spanish list, against #16,245 for "ace". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ace" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #268,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abre" and "ace" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abed vs ace". 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 #268,297 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list