almvsarmaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alm is a verb, arma is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alm” is a verb and “arma” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,549
“alm” frequency rank
#48,716
“arma” frequency rank
64265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alm arma
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs almen Waffe; Mittel, das dazu geeignet ist, Lebewesen in ihrer Handlungsfähigkeit zu beeinträchtigen oder handlungsunfähig zu machen, physisch oder psychisch zu verletzen oder zu töten

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
alm
4 ch
arma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alm is [ˈalm] while arma is [ˈarma]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64265, 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]. arma is at rank #48,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈarma].

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 64265, this pair ranks #647,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alm vs arma

Shared letters: am. Private to "alm": l. Private to "arma": r.

"alm" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "arma" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • armaaram · armma · arrma

Frequency comparison

alm#15,549
arma#48,716

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alm" and "arma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alm" is a verb and "arma" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alm" or "arma"?
"alm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,549 in our German list, against #48,716 for "arma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alm vs arma

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “alm”; for a noun, it's “arma”.
  • 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

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

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