Which to use
“air” is a noun and “ami” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #341
- “air” frequency rank
- #665
- “ami” frequency rank
- 1006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | air | ami |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mélange gazeux constituant l’atmosphère. | Qui est bienveillant, obligeant, amical. |
Where the eye mixes air and ami
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between air and ami
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: air is \ɛʁ\ while ami is \a.mi\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
air is recorded at frequency rank #341, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛʁ\. ami is at rank #665, tagged as anadj, pronounced \a.mi\.
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 1006, this pair ranks #438,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of air vs ami
Shared letters: ai. Private to "air": r. Private to "ami": m.
"air" · 3 letters · shape VVC · "ami" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "air" and "ami" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "air" vs "ami" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "air" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ami" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #438,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "air" and "ami" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ami vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #438,773 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.