Which to use
“ase” and “ass” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,779
- “ase” frequency rank
- #16,298
- “ass” frequency rank
- 60077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ase | ass |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plante herbacée vivace de la famille des Apiaceae, dont l’espèce la plus connue est l’ase fétide (Ferula assa-foetida). | Âne. |
Where the eye mixes ase and ass
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ase with ass
A purely visual mix-up. ase (\az\) and ass (\æs\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “ase” becomes s in “ass”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60077, 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\. ass is at rank #16,298, tagged as anoun, pronounced \æs\.
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 60077, this pair ranks #99,584 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ase vs ass
Shared letters: as. Private to "ase": e. Private to "ass": -.
"ase" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "ass" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ase" for "ass" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "ase" or "ass" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ase" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #99,584 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ase" and "ass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ase vs aves". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #99,584 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.