arcevsareTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#13,186
“arce” frequency rank
#6,261
“are” frequency rank
19447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arce are
Definition (Acer spp.) Cualquiera de varias especies de árboles y arbustos del hemisferio norte, de características hojas opuestas, muchas veces palmatilobuladas. Florecen formando inflorescencias en racimos, corimbos o umbelas de floros pentámeros, que fructifican en parejas de sámaras muy distintivas. Son una importante fuente de polen y néctar para la apicultura, y tienen varios usos comerciales, incluyendo el ornamental, la madera y la elaboración de jarabe. Es el árbol nacional de Canadá. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de arar.

Where the eye mixes arce and are

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
arce
3 ch
are

Why the eye confuses arce with are

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arce is [ˈaɾse] while are is [ˈaɾe]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arce is recorded at frequency rank #13,186, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɾse]. are is at rank #6,261, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɾe].

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 19447, this pair ranks #263,708 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of arce vs are

Shared letters: aer. Private to "arce": c. Private to "are": -.

"arce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arcearcce · arec · arrce · arse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arce" and "are" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "arce" is a noun and "are" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "arce" vs "are" - which ranks higher?
"are" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,261 in our Spanish list, against #13,186 for "arce". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "arce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #263,708 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arce" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abrace vs arce". 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 #263,708 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