Which to use
“A3” is a noun and “af” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,334
- “A3” frequency rank
- #14,405
- “af” frequency rank
- 34739
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | A3 | af |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Format de papier mesurant 420 mm × 297 mm. | De. Note d’usage : la préposition est suivie du datif. |
Where the eye mixes A3 and af
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses A3 with af
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: A3 is \ɑ.tʁwa\ while af is \aːv\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - 3 in “A3” becomes f in “af”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
A3 is recorded at frequency rank #20,334, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ.tʁwa\. af is at rank #14,405, tagged as aprep, pronounced \aːv\.
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 34739, this pair ranks #281,732 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of A3 vs af
Shared letters: a. Private to "A3": -. Private to "af": f.
"A3" · 1 letters · shape V · "af" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "A3" and "af" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "A3" or "af" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "A3" and "af" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "A3" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "af" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #281,732 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "A3" and "af" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "A3 vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #281,732 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.