Which to use
“anus” is a noun and “aus” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,304
- “anus” frequency rank
- #18,401
- “aus” frequency rank
- 30705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anus | aus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Orifice du rectum par lequel se termine l’intestin. | De (désigne la provenance). |
Where the eye mixes anus and aus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between anus and aus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: anus is \a.nys\ while aus is \aʊ̯s\. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anus is recorded at frequency rank #12,304, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.nys\. aus is at rank #18,401, tagged as aprep, pronounced \aʊ̯s\.
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 30705, this pair ranks #308,493 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anus vs aus
Shared letters: asu. Private to "anus": n. Private to "aus": -.
"anus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "aus" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anus ← annus · ansu · anuss · auns · naus
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "anus" for "aus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "anus" or "aus"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "anus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #308,493 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anus" and "aus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aus vs aves". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #308,493 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.