Which to use
“abre” is a verb and “ate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,099
- “abre” frequency rank
- #23,677
- “ate” frequency rank
- 25776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abre | ate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de abrir o de abrirse. | Dulce de membrillo en forma de barra o bloque a modo de dulce seco. |
Where the eye mixes abre and ate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: abre vs ate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abre is [ˈaβ̞ɾe] while ate is [ˈat̪e]. 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 25776, 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]. ate is at rank #23,677, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈat̪e].
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 25776, this pair ranks #234,858 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abre vs ate
Shared letters: ae. Private to "abre": br. Private to "ate": t.
"abre" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ate" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- abre ← abbre · abrre · arbe · avre · bare
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abre" and "ate" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abre" or "ate"?
After this comparison
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 "ate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,858 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abre" and "ate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anta vs ate". 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 #234,858 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.