Which to use
“alas” is an intj and “Alaska” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,647
- “alas” frequency rank
- #5,184
- “Alaska” frequency rank
- 16831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | Alaska |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment. | A state of the United States, formerly a territory. Capital: Juneau. Largest city: Anchorage. Postal code: AK. |
Where the eye mixes alas and Alaska
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. alas runs 4 letters (VCVC) against Alaska's 6 (VCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: alas vs Alaska
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alas is /əˈlæs/ while Alaska is /əˈlæs.kə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “alas” sits inside “Alaska”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alas is recorded at frequency rank #11,647, classified as anintj, pronounced /əˈlæs/. Alaska is at rank #5,184, tagged as aname, pronounced /əˈlæs.kə/.
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 16831, this pair ranks #455,324 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs Alaska
Shared letters: als. Private to "alas": -. Private to "Alaska": k.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "Alaska" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alas" for "Alaska" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alas" or "Alaska"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Alaska" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #455,324 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "Alaska" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alas vs arras". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #455,324 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.