arcevsateConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,186
“arce” frequency rank
#23,677
“ate” frequency rank
36863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arce ate
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. Dulce de membrillo en forma de barra o bloque a modo de dulce seco.

Where the eye mixes arce and ate

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

4 ch
arce
3 ch
ate

Visual trap between arce and ate

A purely visual mix-up. arce ([ˈaɾse]) and ate ([ˈat̪e]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36863, 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]. 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 36863, this pair ranks #178,378 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of arce vs ate

Shared letters: ae. Private to "arce": cr. Private to "ate": t.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arcearcce · arec · arrce · arse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "arce" and "ate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɾse] versus [ˈat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "arce" vs "ate" - which ranks higher?
"arce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,186 in our Spanish list, against #23,677 for "ate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "arce" 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 #178,378 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arce" 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 #178,378 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