Which to use
“alm” is a noun and “are” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,024
- “alm” frequency rank
- #19
- “are” frequency rank
- 43043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alm | are |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something given to the poor as charity: a singular gift of alms. | second-person singular simple present of be |
Where the eye mixes alm and are
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between alm and are
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alm is /ɑːm/ while are is /ə(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alm is recorded at frequency rank #43,024, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɑːm/. are is at rank #19, tagged as averb, pronounced /ə(ɹ)/.
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 43043, this pair ranks #243,731 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alm vs are
Shared letters: a. Private to "alm": lm. Private to "are": er.
"alm" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "are" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alm" and "are" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "alm" or "are" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "are" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,731 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alm" and "are" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alm vs amb". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #243,731 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.