Which to use
“alle” is an adverb and “allein” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #80
- “alle” frequency rank
- #391
- “allein” frequency rank
- 471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alle | allein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mitteldeutsch und norddeutsch, umgangssprachlich:' leer, nicht mehr vorrätig | für sich, getrennt, einsam, einzeln sein; nur; ohne Beistand, Zeugen, Anwesenheit von anderen Personen, ohne Hilfe sein |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alle and allein apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
alle and allein form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “alle” sits inside “allein” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alle is recorded at frequency rank #80, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈalə]. allein is at rank #391, tagged as anadj, pronounced [aˈlaɪ̯n].
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 471, this pair ranks #2,005,807 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alle" and "allein" be used interchangeably?
Remembering alle vs allein
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “alle”; for an adjective, it's “allein”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alle” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable