Which to use
“ase” is a noun and “asm” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,779
- “ase” frequency rank
- #17,876
- “asm” frequency rank
- 61655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ase | asm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plante herbacée vivace de la famille des Apiaceae, dont l’espèce la plus connue est l’ase fétide (Ferula assa-foetida). | Asthmatique. |
Where the eye mixes ase and asm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ase with asm
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ase is \az\ while asm is \as\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “ase” becomes m in “asm”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ase is recorded at frequency rank #43,779, classified as anoun, pronounced \az\. asm is at rank #17,876, tagged as anadj, pronounced \as\.
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 61655, this pair ranks #91,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ase vs asm
Shared letters: as. Private to "ase": e. Private to "asm": m.
"ase" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "asm" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ase" and "asm" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "ase" or "asm" 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 "ase" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "asm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ase" and "asm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ase vs aves". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #91,145 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.