Which to use
“alf” is a noun and “all” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,273
- “alf” frequency rank
- #32
- “all” frequency rank
- 25305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alf | all |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar. | Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or uncountable). |
Letter map: alf vs all
Shared letters muted; letters that set alf and all apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - alf and all
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: alf is anoun and alladeterminer. On the page they differ by a single letter - f in “alf” becomes l in “all”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alf is recorded at frequency rank #25,273, classified as anoun. all is at rank #32, tagged as adet, pronounced /ɔːl/.
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 25305, this pair ranks #395,320 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alf vs all
Shared letters: al. Private to "alf": f. Private to "all": -.
"alf" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "all" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alf" for "all" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alf" or "all"?
What to do next
Pair "alf" vs "all" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "alf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "all" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,320 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alf" and "all" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alf vs amb". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #395,320 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.