allavsAllahWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alla is a verb, Allah is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alla” is a verb and “Allah” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,977
“alla” frequency rank
#24,017
“Allah” frequency rank
30994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alla Allah
Definition Tercera persona del singular (il, elle, on) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de aller Alá.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
alla
5 ch
Allah

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: alla and Allah carry the same recorded pronunciation, /a.la/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other aname, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “alla” sits inside “Allah”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alla is recorded at frequency rank #6,977, classified as averb, pronounced /a.la/. Allah is at rank #24,017, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈala/.

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 30994, this pair ranks #209,321 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alla vs Allah

Shared letters: al. Private to "alla": -. Private to "Allah": h.

"alla" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "Allah" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allaalal
  • Allahalah · alalh · allahh · allha · lalah

Frequency comparison

alla#6,977
Allah#24,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alla" and "Allah" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alla" is a verb and "Allah" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alla" or "Allah"?
"alla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,977 in our Spanish list, against #24,017 for "Allah". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alla vs Allah

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “alla”; for a name, it's “Allah”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alla” 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