Which to use
“allow” is a verb and “aloe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,039
- “allow” frequency rank
- #26,674
- “aloe” frequency rank
- 27713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allow | aloe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To let one have as a suitable share of something. | The resins of the tree Aquilaria malaccensis (syn. Aquilaria agallocha), known for their fragrant aroma, produced after infection by the fungus Phialophora parasitica. |
Where the eye mixes allow and aloe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: allow vs aloe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allow is /əˈlaʊ/ while aloe is /ˈæ.loʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allow is recorded at frequency rank #1,039, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈlaʊ/. aloe is at rank #26,674, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæ.loʊ/.
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 27713, this pair ranks #376,703 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of allow vs aloe
Shared letters: alo. Private to "allow": w. Private to "aloe": e.
"allow" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "aloe" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "allow" for "aloe" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "allow" or "aloe" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "allow" and "aloe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "allow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aloe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,703 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allow" and "aloe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "algo vs aloe". 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 #376,703 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.