allavsaltWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: alla is a verb, alt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#6,977
“alla” frequency rank
#19,614
“alt” frequency rank
26591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes alla and alt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
alla
3 ch
alt

Look-alike desk: alla vs alt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alla is /a.la/ while alt is [alt]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26591, 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/. alt is at rank #19,614, tagged as anadj, pronounced [alt].

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 26591, this pair ranks #230,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alla vs alt

Shared letters: al. Private to "alla": -. Private to "alt": t.

"alla" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "alt" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "alla" for "alt" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alla" is a verb and "alt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alla" or "alt"?
"alla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,977 in our Spanish list, against #19,614 for "alt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "alla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #230,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alla" and "alt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alt vs anta". 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 #230,919 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list