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 eye mixes aham and ala
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. aham runs 4 letters (VCVC) against ala's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses aham with ala
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
- aham ← aahm · ahamm · ahham · ahma · haam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aham" for "ala" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aham" or "ala"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aham" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ala" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aham" and "ala" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aham vs atar". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #27,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.