Which to use
“alm” and “ass” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,024
- “alm” frequency rank
- #1,065
- “ass” frequency rank
- 44089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alm | ass |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something given to the poor as charity: a singular gift of alms. | Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden. |
Where the eye mixes alm and ass
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses alm with ass
A purely visual mix-up. alm (/ɑːm/) and ass (/æs/) 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 44089, 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/. ass is at rank #1,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced /æs/.
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 44089, this pair ranks #233,813 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alm vs ass
Shared letters: a. Private to "alm": lm. Private to "ass": s.
"alm" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ass" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alm" for "ass" ever safe?
Frequency check: "alm" vs "ass" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "alm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #233,813 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alm" and "ass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alm vs amb". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #233,813 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.