Which to use
“altar” is a noun and “altho” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,562
- “altar” frequency rank
- #44,055
- “altho” frequency rank
- 53617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | altar | altho |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites. | Alternative spelling of although. |
Letter map: altar vs altho
Shared letters muted; letters that set altar and altho apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. altar (VCCVC) and altho (VCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Grammar separator: altar vs altho
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: altar is anoun and althoaconjunction. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
altar is recorded at frequency rank #9,562, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɒl.tə/. altho is at rank #44,055, tagged as aconj.
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 53617, this pair ranks #147,550 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of altar vs altho
Shared letters: alt. Private to "altar": r. Private to "altho": ho.
"altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "altho" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "altar" for "altho" ever safe?
Frequency check: "altar" vs "altho" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "altar" and "altho".
- Full dictionary entry for "altar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "altho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,550 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "altar" and "altho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "algo vs altho". 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 #147,550 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.