Which to use
“alas” and “ally” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #15,249
- “ally” frequency rank
- 32937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | ally |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | aliado: |
Where the eye mixes alas and ally
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: alas vs ally
A purely visual mix-up. alas (/ˈa.lɐs/) and ally (/ˈæ.laɪ/) 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 32937, 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/. ally is at rank #15,249, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈæ.laɪ/.
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 32937, this pair ranks #34,712 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs ally
Shared letters: al. Private to "alas": s. Private to "ally": y.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "ally" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alas" and "ally" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "alas" or "ally" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "alas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ally" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,712 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "ally" 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 #34,712 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.