Which to use
“alm” is a verb and “an” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,549
- “alm” frequency rank
- #26
- “an” frequency rank
- 15575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alm | an |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs almen | bestimmt ein Ziel, einen Zielpunkt, mit welchem etw. in Berührung kommt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alm and an apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
alm and an 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 15575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alm is recorded at frequency rank #15,549, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈalm]. an is at rank #26, tagged as aprep, pronounced [an].
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 15575, this pair ranks #1,942,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alm" and "an" be used interchangeably?
Remembering alm vs an
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “alm”; for a preposition, it's “an”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alm” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable