Which to use
“ache” and “ash” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,947
- “ache” frequency rank
- #11,803
- “ash” frequency rank
- 21750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ache | ash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dor, axe | cinza |
Where the eye mixes ache and ash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ache with ash
A purely visual mix-up. ache (/eɪk/) and ash (/æʃ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ache is recorded at frequency rank #9,947, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪk/. ash is at rank #11,803, tagged as anoun, pronounced /æʃ/.
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 21750, this pair ranks #48,429 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ache vs ash
Shared letters: ah. Private to "ache": ce. Private to "ash": s.
"ache" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ash" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ache ← acche · aceh · achhe · ahce · cahe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ache" and "ash" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ache" or "ash" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ache" and "ash" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,429 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ache" and "ash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs ash". 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 #48,429 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.