Which to use
“add” and “ait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,436
- “add” frequency rank
- #538
- “ait” frequency rank
- 23974
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | add | ait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Additionner, ajouter. | Troisième personne du singulier du subjonctif présent du verbe auxiliaire avoir. |
Where the eye mixes add and ait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between add and ait
A purely visual mix-up. add (\æd\) and ait (\ɛ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
add is recorded at frequency rank #23,436, classified as averb, pronounced \æd\. ait is at rank #538, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ\.
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 23974, this pair ranks #349,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of add vs ait
Shared letters: a. Private to "add": d. Private to "ait": it.
"add" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ait" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "add" and "ait" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "add" vs "ait" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "add" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "add" and "ait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "add vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #349,386 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.