allevsalsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alle is a adverb, als is a conjunction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alle” is an adverb and “als” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#80
“alle” frequency rank
#24
“als” frequency rank
104
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alle als
Definition mitteldeutsch und norddeutsch, umgangssprachlich:' leer, nicht mehr vorrätig der dem als folgende Part ist der mindere (weniger) oder der größere (mehr)

Where the eye mixes alle and als

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
alle
3 ch
als

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alle is [ˈalə] while als is [als]. 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 (adverb vs conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alle is recorded at frequency rank #80, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈalə]. als is at rank #24, tagged as aconj, pronounced [als].

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 104, this pair ranks #2,006,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alle vs als

Shared letters: al. Private to "alle": e. Private to "als": s.

"alle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "als" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allealel · lale

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alle" and "als" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alle" is an adverb and "als" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alle" or "als"?
"als" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24 in our German list, against #80 for "alle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list