Which to use
“APB” and “are” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,865
- “APB” frequency rank
- #6,166
- “are” frequency rank
- 41031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | APB | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom du logiciel utilisé de 2012 à 2017 pour enregistrer les souhaits des élèves concernant leur poursuite d'études après le baccalauréat. Décrié pour ses nombreux problèmes informatiques, il est remplacé pour 2018 par Parcoursup. | Unité de mesure de surface de terrains, égale à 100 mètres carrés. |
Where the eye mixes APB and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: APB vs are
A purely visual mix-up. APB (\a.pe.be\) and are (\aʁ\) 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 41031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
APB is recorded at frequency rank #34,865, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.pe.be\. are is at rank #6,166, tagged as anoun, pronounced \aʁ\.
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 41031, this pair ranks #236,082 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of APB vs are
Shared letters: a. Private to "APB": bp. Private to "are": er.
"APB" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "APB" for "are" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "APB" or "are" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "APB" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,082 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "APB" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "APB vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #236,082 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.