Which to use
“ath” is an article and “Atom” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,830
- “ath” frequency rank
- #36,255
- “Atom” frequency rank
- 68085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ath | Atom |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contraction de la préposition a et de l'article défini eth. | Atome. |
Where the eye mixes ath and Atom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ath with Atom
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ath is \at\ while Atom is \aˈtoːm\. 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 (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ath is recorded at frequency rank #31,830, classified as anarticle, pronounced \at\. Atom is at rank #36,255, tagged as anoun, pronounced \aˈtoːm\.
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 68085, this pair ranks #60,626 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ath vs Atom
Shared letters: at. Private to "ath": h. Private to "Atom": mo.
"ath" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "Atom" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Atom ← aotm · atmo · atomm · attom · taom
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ath" for "Atom" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ath" vs "Atom" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ath" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Atom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,626 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ath" and "Atom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "astor vs Atom". 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 #60,626 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.