alla vs Ávila, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,977
“alla” frequency rank: #9,063
“Ávila” frequency rank: 16040
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	alla	Ávila
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (il, elle, on) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de aller	Ciudad de España en la comunidad autónoma de Castilla y León.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

alla

5 ch

Ávila

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alla is /a.la/ while Ávila is [ˈaβ̞ila]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16040, 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/. Ávila is at rank #9,063, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ila].

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 16040, this pair ranks #277,757 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of alla vs Ávila

Shared letters: al. Private to "alla": -. Private to "Ávila": ivá.

"alla" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Ávila" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

alla ← alal

Frequency comparison

alla#6,977

Ávila#9,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alla" and "Ávila" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alla" is a verb and "Ávila" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "alla" or "Ávila"?

"alla" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,977 in our Spanish list, against #9,063 for "Ávila". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alla vs Ávila

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 “Ávila”.
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