allyvsalmaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,474
“ally” frequency rank
#1,008
“alma” frequency rank
28482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ally alma
Definition Aliado. Supuesta esencia inmaterial de una persona o de un animal.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
ally
4 ch
alma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ally (/ˈæl.aɪ/ (sustantivo; también usado para el verbo)) and alma ([ˈalma]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ally is recorded at frequency rank #27,474, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæl.aɪ/ (sustantivo; también usado para el verbo). alma is at rank #1,008, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈalma].

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 28482, this pair ranks #221,820 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ally vs alma

Shared letters: al. Private to "ally": y. Private to "alma": m.

"ally" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "alma" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allyallyy · aly · alyl · laly
  • almaalam · allma · almma

Frequency comparison

ally#27,474
alma#1,008

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ally" and "alma" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈæl.aɪ/ (sustantivo; también usado para el verbo) versus [ˈalma]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ally" or "alma"?
"alma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,008 in our Spanish list, against #27,474 for "ally". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering ally vs alma

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 “ally” 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