Which to use
“alce” and “alta” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,936
- “alce” frequency rank
- #667
- “alta” frequency rank
- 38603
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alce | alta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Alces alces) Especie de mamífero artiodáctilo de la familia de los cérvidos. Habitante original de los bosques nórdicos de Europa y Asia. Es cazado especialmente por su carne, la piel y los huesos, así como por deporte. Pueden pesar de 350 hasta 450 kg y tener una altura de 1,50 a 2,15 m. La diferenciación de machos y hembras solo es notada en la falta de astas ya que sus alturas son relativamente iguales. | En los hospitales, orden informada al enfermo a quien se da por sano, para regresar a su vida normal. |
Where the eye mixes alce and alta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses alce with alta
A purely visual mix-up. alce ([ˈalse]) and alta ([ˈal̪t̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alce is recorded at frequency rank #37,936, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈalse]. alta is at rank #667, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈal̪t̪a].
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 38603, this pair ranks #169,098 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alce vs alta
Shared letters: al. Private to "alce": ce. Private to "alta": t.
"alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "alta" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alce" for "alta" ever safe?
Frequency check: "alce" vs "alta" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #169,098 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alce" and "alta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alce vs alió". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #169,098 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.