Which to use
“al” is a contraction and “alce” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,002
- “al” frequency rank
- #48,754
- “alce” frequency rank
- 49756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | al | alce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ao (contração da preposição a (Espanhol) e do artigo el (Espanhol)). | mamífero artiodáctilo da família dos cervídeos (Alces alces), que ocorre nas regiões frias ao norte do hemisfério norte; de pelagem escura, ponta do focinho larga e arqueada e grande galhada espalmada, com numerosas pontas, presente somente nos machos [É o maior dos cervídeos, alcançando até 3 m de comprimento.] |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set al and alce apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: al is /al/ while alce is /ˈaɫ.sɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “al” sits inside “alce”, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
al is recorded at frequency rank #1,002, classified as acontraction, pronounced /al/. alce is at rank #48,754, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɫ.sɨ/.
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 49756, this pair ranks #15,228 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of al vs alce
Shared letters: al. Private to "al": -. Private to "alce": ce.
"al" · 2 letters · shape VC · "alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- alce ← alcce · alec · allce · lace
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "al" and "alce" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "al" or "alce"?
Remembering al vs alce
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “al”; for a noun, it's “alce”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “al” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable