Which to use
“allele” and “alleys” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,269
- “allele” frequency rank
- #26,672
- “alleys” frequency rank
- 58941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allele | alleys |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome. | plural of alley |
Where the eye mixes allele and alleys
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. allele (VCCVCV) and alleys (VCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between allele and alleys
A purely visual mix-up. allele (/ˈæl.iːl/) and alleys (/ˈæ.liz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allele is recorded at frequency rank #32,269, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.iːl/. alleys is at rank #26,672, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæ.liz/.
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 58941, this pair ranks #109,292 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of allele vs alleys
Shared letters: ael. Private to "allele": -. Private to "alleys": sy.
"allele" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "alleys" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "allele" and "alleys" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "allele" or "alleys" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "allele" and "alleys" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "allele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alleys" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,292 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allele" and "alleys" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "allele vs allude". 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 #109,292 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.