allaivsalléWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“allai” and “allé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,638
“allai” frequency rank
#1,800
“allé” frequency rank
40438
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature allai allé
Definition Première personne de l’indicatif passé simple du verbe aller. Masculin singulier du participe passé du verbe aller.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set allai and allé apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
allai
4 ch
allé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. allai and allé are pronounced identically (\a.le\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

allai is recorded at frequency rank #38,638, classified as averb, pronounced \a.le\. allé is at rank #1,800, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.le\.

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 40438, this pair ranks #240,495 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of allai vs allé

Shared letters: al. Private to "allai": i. Private to "allé": é.

"allai" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "allé" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

Frequency comparison

allai#38,638
allé#1,800

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "allai" and "allé" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\a.le\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "allai" or "allé"?
"allé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,800 in our French list, against #38,638 for "allai". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering allai vs allé

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 “allai” 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