allesvsALTEWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alles is a pronoun, ALTE is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alles” is a pronoun and “ALTE” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#97
“alles” frequency rank
#498
“ALTE” frequency rank
595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alles ALTE
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum des Indefinitpronomens all Apparent Life Threatening Event = anscheinend lebensbedrohliches Ereignis (Bezeichnung eines akuten Zustandes bei Neugeborenen oder Säuglingen mit Apnoe, Zyanose oder Blässe, verändertem Muskeltonus sowie Bradykardie)

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
alles
4 ch
ALTE

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

alles and ALTE 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 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alles is recorded at frequency rank #97, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈaləs]. ALTE is at rank #498, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈaltə].

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 595, this pair ranks #2,005,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

alles#97
ALTE#498

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alles" and "ALTE" be used interchangeably?
No, "alles" and "ALTE" 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 alles vs ALTE

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “alles”; for an abbrev, it's “ALTE”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alles” 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