allemvsallzuWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: allem is a unknown, allzu is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“allem” is an unknown and “allzu” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#239
“allem” frequency rank
#3,294
“allzu” frequency rank
3533
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature allem allzu
Definition maskuliner und neutraler Dativ Singular des Indefinitpronomens alle verstärktes zu; zu sehr, in zu hohem Grade

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set allem and allzu apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
allem
5 ch
allzu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allem is [ˈaləm] while allzu is [ˈalt͡suː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

allem is recorded at frequency rank #239, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈaləm]. allzu is at rank #3,294, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈalt͡suː].

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 3533, this pair ranks #1,999,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of allem vs allzu

Shared letters: al. Private to "allem": em. Private to "allzu": uz.

"allem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "allzu" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allemalelm · alem · allemm · allme · lalem
  • allzualluz · allzzu · alzlu · alzu · lalzu

Frequency comparison

allem#239
allzu#3,294

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "allem" and "allzu" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "allem" is an unknown and "allzu" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "allem" or "allzu"?
"allem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #239 in our German list, against #3,294 for "allzu". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering allem vs allzu

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “allem”; for an adverb, it's “allzu”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “allem” 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