Which to use
“als” is a conjunction and “are” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24
- “als” frequency rank
- #4,019
- “are” frequency rank
- 4043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | als | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der dem als folgende Part ist der mindere (weniger) oder der größere (mehr) | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs be |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set als and are apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
als and are 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 4043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
als is recorded at frequency rank #24, classified as aconj, pronounced [als]. are is at rank #4,019, tagged as averb, pronounced [ə].
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 4043, this pair ranks #1,998,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "als" and "are" be used interchangeably?
Remembering als vs are
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “als”; for a verb, it's “are”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “als” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable