alf
"alf" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alf” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,273 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #25,273
- frequency rank, English
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.
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 | alf |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #25,273 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “alf” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for alf is 3 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #25,273 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for alf, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "at", "an", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Danish and Swedish alf, from Old Norse alfr; see also Dutch alf. Doublet of elf, awf, and oaf. The correct English form is alf, spelled A-L-F.
Definition
- 1A supernatural being similar to an elf; one of the Dǫkkálfar or Ljósalfar.
Etymology
From Danish and Swedish alf, from Old Norse alfr; see also Dutch alf. Doublet of elf, awf, and oaf.
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 "alf"?
What does "alf" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "alf"?
What is the origin of the word "alf"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “alf”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “as” - see the side-by-side comparison. alf vs as
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.