Which to use
“alas” is a noun and “ali” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #593
- “ali” frequency rank
- 18281
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | ali |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | naquele lugar |
Where the eye mixes alas and ali
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: alas vs ali
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alas is /ˈa.lɐs/ while ali is /ɐ.ˈli/. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18281, 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/. ali is at rank #593, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ɐ.ˈli/.
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 18281, this pair ranks #52,746 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs ali
Shared letters: al. Private to "alas": s. Private to "ali": i.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ali" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- alas ← aals · alass · allas · alsa · laas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alas" for "ali" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alas" or "ali"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "alas" and "ali" 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 "ali" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,746 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "ali" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acs vs alas". 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 #52,746 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.