Which to use
“Adam” is a name and “ala” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,421
- “Adam” frequency rank
- #18,792
- “ala” frequency rank
- 22213
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Adam | ala |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | männlicher Vorname | Flügel |
Where the eye mixes Adam and ala
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Adam with ala
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Adam is [ˈaːdam] while ala is [ˈala]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Adam is recorded at frequency rank #3,421, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈaːdam]. ala is at rank #18,792, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈala].
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 22213, this pair ranks #1,876,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Adam vs ala
Shared letters: a. Private to "Adam": dm. Private to "ala": l.
"Adam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ala" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Adam ← aadm · adamm · addam · adma · daam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Adam" for "ala" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Adam" or "ala" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Adam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ala" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,876,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Adam" and "ala" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ala vs AUD". 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 #1,876,921 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.