ahamvsalaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aham is a intj, ala is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aham” is an intj and “ala” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,839
“aham” frequency rank
#6,137
“ala” frequency rank
38976
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aham ala
Definition expressa satisfação, aplauso ou surpresa, concordância conjunto de objetos dispostos de maneira a formar uma linha

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
aham
3 ch
ala

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aham is /ã.'hã/ while ala is /ˈa.lɐ/. 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 (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aham is recorded at frequency rank #32,839, classified as anintj, pronounced /ã.'hã/. ala is at rank #6,137, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.lɐ/.

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 38976, this pair ranks #27,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aham vs ala

Shared letters: a. Private to "aham": hm. Private to "ala": l.

"aham" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "ala" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ahamaahm · ahamm · ahham · ahma · haam

Frequency comparison

aham#32,839
ala#6,137

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aham" and "ala" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aham" is an intj and "ala" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aham" or "ala"?
"ala" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,137 in our Portuguese list, against #32,839 for "aham". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aham vs ala

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “aham”; for a noun, it's “ala”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aham” 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