alma

/ˈæl.mə/

//ˈæl.mə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"alma" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“alma” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #13,459) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#13,459
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.

Corpus desk

Index EN-alma · alma · English

alma · rank #13,459 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,459
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ambiguous

Nearest frequency peer: ambiguous (+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 neighbours of confusable “alma”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “alma” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alma vs AM
0% similar
alma vs arm
50% similar
alma vs Amy
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alma
PropertyValue
Headwordalma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæl.mə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,459
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “alma”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).almalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ambiguous” (#13,460), “archaeology” (#13,461), “Agnes” (#13,456). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “alma” is #13,459. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for alma is neighbouring look-alikes ("AM", "arm", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈæl.mə/. Frequency #13,459 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Gloss: "An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for alma, with forms such as "alam", "allma", and "almma". 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, "AM", "arm", "Amy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From colloquial Arabic عَالِمَة (ʕālima, “a singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning learned, knowledgeable, from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”). The correct English form is alma, spelled A-L-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.

Etymology

From colloquial Arabic عَالِمَة (ʕālima, “a singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning learned, knowledgeable, from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alam
  • allma
  • almma
  • amla

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alma - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

alam2allma1almma1amla2
Edit distance from "alma"

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 "alma"?
"alma" is spelled A-L-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæl.mə/.
What does "alma" mean?
As a noun, "alma" means: An Egyptian female singer or dancing girl employed for entertainment or as a professional mourner.
What words are commonly confused with "alma"?
"alma" is commonly confused with "AM", "arm", "Amy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "alma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alma" is /ˈæl.mə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "alma"?
From colloquial Arabic عَالِمَة (ʕālima, “a singer”), originally a feminine adjective meaning learned, knowledgeable, from عَلِمَ (ʕalima, “to know”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "alma", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

arse#13,462woah#13,447UKIP#13,444tang#13,435

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list