Which to use
“add” is a verb and “aux” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,436
- “add” frequency rank
- #58
- “aux” frequency rank
- 23494
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | add | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Additionner, ajouter. | Contraction obligatoire de la préposition à et de l'article défini les. |
Where the eye mixes add and aux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses add with aux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: add is \æd\ 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 (verb vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23494, 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\. 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 23494, this pair ranks #352,192 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of add vs aux
Shared letters: a. Private to "add": d. Private to "aux": ux.
"add" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "aux" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "add" and "aux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "add" or "aux"?
Useful next steps
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 "aux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #352,192 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "add" and "aux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "add vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #352,192 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.