alter ego

[al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o]

/[al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o]/ phrase

The verdict

“alter ego” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Trastorno de identidad disociativo, referido a quien lleva doble vida. Es un segundo yo, a quien se atribuye personalidad distinta de la normal u original. Se trata de una persona real o imaginaria...

Corpus desk

Index ES-alter-ego · alter ego · Spanish

alter ego · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for alter ego
PropertyValue
Headwordalter ego
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “alter ego” en español

alter egoestá más allá de las 100.000 formas más frecuentes del español, en la cola de léxico especializado o poco usado donde la duda ortográfica aprieta.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

alter ego is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for alter ego, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Spanish form is alter ego, spelled A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Trastorno de identidad disociativo, referido a quien lleva doble vida. Es un segundo yo, a quien se atribuye personalidad distinta de la normal u original. Se trata de una persona real o imaginaria, a quien admira y desearía ser como ella el individuo.
  2. 2
    Persona en quien se deposita confianza total, por lo que se le faculta incondicionalmente para que, en su representación, tome decisiones o ejecute determinadas acciones.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how alter ego appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La identificación primaria es la forma más primitiva de lazo afectivo con un objeto de amor, o sea la primera relación con la madre, antes de la diferenciación entre el ego y el alter ego, que es correlativa a la relación denominada incorporación oral.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alter ego"?
"alter ego" is spelled A-L-T-E-R- -E-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is [al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o].
What does "alter ego" mean?
As a phrase, "alter ego" means: Trastorno de identidad disociativo, referido a quien lleva doble vida. Es un segundo yo, a quien se atribuye personalidad distinta de la normal u original. Se trata de una persona real o imaginaria...
How do you pronounce "alter ego"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alter ego" is [al̪ˈt̪eɾ ˈeɣ̞o]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "alter ego" come from?
"alter ego" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list