alas
/əˈlæs/
"alas" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alas” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,647. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #11,647
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alas · alas · English
alas · rank #11,647 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #11,647
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH airborne
Nearest frequency peer: airborne (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “alas”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- activism
activism
88,357 corpus weight
- advent
advent
88,356 corpus weight
- airborne
airborne
88,355 corpus weight
- alas
alas
88,354 corpus weight
- astonishing
astonishing
88,353 corpus weight
- aww
aww
88,352 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “alas” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alas |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /əˈlæs/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #11,647 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alas” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around alas (IPA /əˈlæs/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #11,647 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for alas, with forms such as "aals", "alass", and "allas". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "all", "ass", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas. The correct English form is alas, spelled A-L-A-S.
Definition
- 1Used to express sorrow, regret, compassion, grief, resignation, or disappointment.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alas appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I wanted to catch the last bus home, but alas, I was ten minutes late and had to take a taxi instead.
Helas I lamente the dull abuſyd brayne The enfatuate fantaſies the wytles wylfulnes Of on and hothyr at me that haue dyſdayne
Etymology
From Middle English alas, from Old French a las (French hélas), from a (“ah”) + las, from Latin lassus (“weary”). Compare Dutch helaas, North Frisian ielas, West Frisian eilaas.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- aals
- alass
- allas
- alsa
- laas
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alas - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "alas"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "alas", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "alas". Here's where to go from here.
- "alas" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "as". View pair
- 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #11,647 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.