Which to use
“Alf” is a name and “all” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,111
- “Alf” frequency rank
- #3,589
- “all” frequency rank
- 43700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Alf | all |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom de famille. | Tout, tous. |
Where the eye mixes Alf and all
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Alf with all
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Alf is \ɑlf\ while all is \al\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “Alf” becomes l in “all”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43700, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Alf is recorded at frequency rank #40,111, classified as aname, pronounced \ɑlf\. all is at rank #3,589, tagged as anadj, pronounced \al\.
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 43700, this pair ranks #216,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Alf vs all
Shared letters: al. Private to "Alf": f. Private to "all": -.
"Alf" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "all" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Alf" for "all" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Alf" or "all"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Alf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "all" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #216,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Alf" and "all" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alf vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #216,110 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.