alavsalceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“ala” and “alce” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,137
“ala” frequency rank
#48,754
“alce” frequency rank
54891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ala alce
Definition conjunto de objetos dispostos de maneira a formar uma linha 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 ala and alce apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ala
4 ch
alce

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ala (/ˈa.lɐ/) and alce (/ˈaɫ.sɨ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ala is recorded at frequency rank #6,137, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.lɐ/. 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 54891, this pair ranks #10,960 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ala vs alce

Shared letters: al. Private to "ala": -. Private to "alce": ce.

"ala" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcealcce · alec · allce · lace

Frequency comparison

ala#6,137
alce#48,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ala" and "alce" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈa.lɐ/ versus /ˈaɫ.sɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ala" or "alce"?
"ala" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,137 in our Portuguese list, against #48,754 for "alce". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ala vs alce

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 “ala” 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