Which to use
“ago” is a postp and “ah” is an onomatopoeia - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,663
- “ago” frequency rank
- #396
- “ah” frequency rank
- 33059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ago | ah |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Il y a (dans le passé). | Cri d’horreur ou d’effroi, en particulier lors d’une chute. |
Where the eye mixes ago and ah
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ago with ah
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ago is \ə.ˈɡoʊ\ while ah is \aː\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (postp vs onomatopoeia), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ago is recorded at frequency rank #32,663, classified as apostp, pronounced \ə.ˈɡoʊ\. ah is at rank #396, tagged as anonomatopoeia, pronounced \aː\.
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 33059, this pair ranks #293,109 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ago vs ah
Shared letters: a. Private to "ago": go. Private to "ah": h.
"ago" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ah" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ago" and "ah" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ago" vs "ah" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ago" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ah" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #293,109 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ago" and "ah" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ago vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #293,109 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.