algavsaltasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alga is a noun, altas is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#34,872
“alga” frequency rank
#2,327
“altas” frequency rank
37199
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alga altas
Definition Organismo acuático autótrofo —es decir, capaz de fotosíntesis—, sea procarionte o eucarionte. No forman un grupo taxonómico homogéneo, comprendiendo desde organismos unicelulares muy sencillos hasta enormes colonias de decenas de metros de longitud. Se clasifican en al menos nueve filos, de uno de los cuales proceden evolutivamente las plantas propiamente dichas. Forma del femenino plural de alto.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alga and altas apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
alga
5 ch
altas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alga is [ˈalɣ̞a] while altas is [ˈal̪t̪as]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alga is recorded at frequency rank #34,872, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈalɣ̞a]. altas is at rank #2,327, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈal̪t̪as].

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 37199, this pair ranks #176,595 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alga vs altas

Shared letters: al. Private to "alga": g. Private to "altas": st.

"alga" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "altas" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • algaalag · algga · allga · laga
  • altasalats · alltas · altass · altsa · alttas

Frequency comparison

alga#34,872
altas#2,327

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alga" and "altas" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alga" is a noun and "altas" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alga" or "altas"?
"altas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,327 in our Spanish list, against #34,872 for "alga". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering alga vs altas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “alga”; for an adjective, it's “altas”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alga” 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