alcevsapeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“alce” and “ape” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#37,936
“alce” frequency rank
#45,736
“ape” frequency rank
83672
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alce ape
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. Espalda.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alce and ape apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
alce
3 ch
ape

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alce ([ˈalse]) and ape ([aˈpe]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83672, 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]. ape is at rank #45,736, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aˈpe].

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 83672, this pair ranks #7,876 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alce vs ape

Shared letters: ae. Private to "alce": cl. Private to "ape": p.

"alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alceacle · alcce · alec · allce · alse · lace

Frequency comparison

alce#37,936
ape#45,736

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alce" and "ape" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈalse] versus [aˈpe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alce" or "ape"?
"alce" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,936 in our Spanish list, against #45,736 for "ape". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alce vs ape

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alce” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list