allvsavWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: all is a determiner, av is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“all” is a determiner and “av” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32
“all” frequency rank
#12,373
“av” frequency rank
12405
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature all av
Definition Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or uncountable). have

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set all and av apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
all
2 ch
av

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

all and av form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

all is recorded at frequency rank #32, classified as adet, pronounced /ɔːl/. av is at rank #12,373, tagged as averb.

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 12405, this pair ranks #481,756 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

all#32
av#12,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "all" and "av" be used interchangeably?
No, "all" and "av" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering all vs av

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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