allevsarmeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alle is a adverb, arme is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#80
“alle” frequency rank
#1,652
“arme” frequency rank
1732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alle arme
Definition mitteldeutsch und norddeutsch, umgangssprachlich:' leer, nicht mehr vorrätig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs arm

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alle and arme apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
alle
4 ch
arme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

alle and arme form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alle is recorded at frequency rank #80, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈalə]. arme is at rank #1,652, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʁmə].

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 1732, this pair ranks #2,003,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

alle#80
arme#1,652

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alle" and "arme" be used interchangeably?
No, "alle" and "arme" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering alle vs arme

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 “arme”.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list