AlanvsalceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,247
“Alan” frequency rank
#48,754
“alce” frequency rank
52001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Alan alce
Definition prenome masculino 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 Alan and alce apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Alan
4 ch
alce

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Alan and alce are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Alan is recorded at frequency rank #3,247, classified as anoun. 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 52001, this pair ranks #13,119 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Alan vs alce

Shared letters: al. Private to "Alan": n. Private to "alce": ce.

"Alan" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Alanaaln · alann · alna · laan
  • alcealcce · alec · allce · lace

Frequency comparison

Alan#3,247
alce#48,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Alan" and "alce" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Alan" or "alce"?
"Alan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,247 in our Portuguese list, against #48,754 for "alce". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Alan 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 “Alan” 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