acevsapeTell them apart

Which to use

“ace” and “ape” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,245
“ace” frequency rank
#45,736
“ape” frequency rank
61981
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ace ape
Definition 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. Espalda.

Where the eye mixes ace and ape

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

3 ch
ace
3 ch
ape

Look-alike desk: ace vs ape

A purely visual mix-up. ace ([ˈase]) and ape ([aˈpe]) 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 a single letter - c in “ace” becomes p in “ape”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ace is recorded at frequency rank #16,245, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈase]. ape is at rank #45,736, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈpe].

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 61981, this pair ranks #53,623 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ace vs ape

Shared letters: ae. Private to "ace": c. Private to "ape": p.

"ace" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ace" and "ape" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈase] versus [aˈpe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ace" or "ape"?
"ace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,245 in our Spanish list, against #45,736 for "ape". 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 "ace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #53,623 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ace" and "ape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ape vs apis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #53,623 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