ahavsausWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: aha is a intj, aus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aha” is an intj and “aus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,719
“aha” frequency rank
#33,949
“aus” frequency rank
79668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aha aus
Definition Ajá. Forma del plural de au.

Where the eye mixes aha and aus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. aha (VCV) and aus (VVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
aha
3 ch
aus

Look-alike desk: aha vs aus

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aha is /ɑːˈhɑː/ while aus is [aws]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aha is recorded at frequency rank #45,719, classified as anintj, pronounced /ɑːˈhɑː/. aus is at rank #33,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aws].

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 79668, this pair ranks #12,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aha vs aus

Shared letters: a. Private to "aha": h. Private to "aus": su.

"aha" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "aus" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aha" for "aus" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aha" is an intj and "aus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aha" or "aus"?
"aus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,949 in our Spanish list, against #45,719 for "aha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #12,685 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aha" and "aus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aha vs anta". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #12,685 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