alcvsallsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alc is a noun, alls is a determiner, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alc” is a noun and “alls” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,757
“alc” frequency rank
#44,608
“alls” frequency rank
94365
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alc alls
Definition Abbreviation of alcohol. All.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
alc
4 ch
alls

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: alc is anoun and allsadeterminer. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alc is recorded at frequency rank #49,757, classified as anoun. alls is at rank #44,608, tagged as adet, pronounced /ɔːlz/.

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 94365, this pair ranks #1,442 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alc vs alls

Shared letters: al. Private to "alc": c. Private to "alls": s.

"alc" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "alls" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allsallss · alsl · lals

Frequency comparison

alc#49,757
alls#44,608

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alc" and "alls" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alc" is a noun and "alls" a determiner, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alc" or "alls"?
"alls" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,608 in our English list, against #49,757 for "alc". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alc vs alls

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “alc”; for a determiner, it's “alls”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alc” 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