aesvsalíWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: aes is a adjective, alí is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aes” is an adjective and “alí” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,355
“aes” frequency rank
#16,257
“alí” frequency rank
59612
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aes alí
Definition Fácil. Allí.

Where the eye mixes aes and alí

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
aes
3 ch
alí

Why the eye confuses aes with alí

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aes is [ˈɛːs] while alí is [aˈli]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aes is recorded at frequency rank #43,355, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛːs]. alí is at rank #16,257, tagged as anadv, pronounced [aˈli].

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 59612, this pair ranks #61,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aes vs alí

Shared letters: a. Private to "aes": es. Private to "alí": .

"aes" · 3 letters · shape VVC  ·  "alí" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aes" and "alí" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aes" is an adjective and "alí" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "aes" vs "alí" - which ranks higher?
"alí" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,257 in our Spanish list, against #43,355 for "aes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alí" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aes" and "alí" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aes vs apis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #61,990 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list