Which to use
“alas” and “alce” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #48,754
- “alce” frequency rank
- 66442
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | alce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | 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 eye mixes alas and alce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. alas (VCVC) and alce (VCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses alas with alce
A purely visual mix-up. alas (/ˈa.lɐs/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66442, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alas is recorded at frequency rank #17,688, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈa.lɐs/. 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 66442, this pair ranks #4,989 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs alce
Shared letters: al. Private to "alas": s. Private to "alce": ce.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alas" and "alce" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "alas" or "alce"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "alas" and "alce" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "alas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,989 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "alce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs alce". 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 #4,989 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.