alavésvsaltaresWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alavés is a adjective, altares is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alavés” is an adjective and “altares” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,628
“alavés” frequency rank
#20,566
“altares” frequency rank
52194
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alavés altares
Definition Originario, relativo a, o propio de Álava, en España. Forma del plural de altar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alavés and altares apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
alavés
7 ch
altares

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alavés is [alaˈβ̞es] while altares is [al̪ˈt̪aɾes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alavés is recorded at frequency rank #31,628, classified as anadj, pronounced [alaˈβ̞es]. altares is at rank #20,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced [al̪ˈt̪aɾes].

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 52194, this pair ranks #93,931 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alavés vs altares

Shared letters: als. Private to "alavés": . Private to "altares": ert.

"alavés" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "altares" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • altaresalatres · alltares · altaers · altaress · altarres · altarse · altraes · alttares

Frequency comparison

alavés#31,628
altares#20,566

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alavés" and "altares" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alavés" is an adjective and "altares" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alavés" or "altares"?
"altares" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,566 in our Spanish list, against #31,628 for "alavés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alavés vs altares

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “alavés”; for a noun, it's “altares”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alavés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list