Which to use
“aba” is a noun and “aux” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,886
- “aba” frequency rank
- #58
- “aux” frequency rank
- 48944
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aba | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manteau de laine en usage en Turquie et dans l’ancienne Perse. | Contraction obligatoire de la préposition à et de l'article défini les. |
Where the eye mixes aba and aux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. aba (VCV) and aux (VVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses aba with aux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aba is \a.ba\ 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 article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aba is recorded at frequency rank #48,886, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ba\. aux is at rank #58, tagged as anarticle, 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 48944, this pair ranks #174,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aba vs aux
Shared letters: a. Private to "aba": b. Private to "aux": ux.
"aba" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "aux" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aba" for "aux" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "aba" 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 "aba" 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 #174,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aba" and "aux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aba vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #174,794 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.