Which to use
“ate” is a noun and “aux” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,677
- “ate” frequency rank
- #32,511
- “aux” frequency rank
- 56188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ate | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dulce de membrillo en forma de barra o bloque a modo de dulce seco. | Contracción de la preposición à y el artículo les; a las ; a los. |
Where the eye mixes ate and aux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ate vs aux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ate is [ˈat̪e] while aux is /o/. 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 (noun vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ate is recorded at frequency rank #23,677, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈat̪e]. aux is at rank #32,511, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /o/.
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 56188, this pair ranks #75,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ate vs aux
Shared letters: a. Private to "ate": et. Private to "aux": ux.
"ate" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "aux" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ate" and "aux" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ate" or "aux" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ate" and "aux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atl vs aux". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.