Which to use
“alas” and “As” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,688
- “alas” frequency rank
- #22
- “As” frequency rank
- 17710
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alas | As |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma plural de ala: | forma obsoleta de Ass |
Where the eye mixes alas and As
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: alas vs As
A purely visual mix-up. alas (/ˈa.lɐs/) and As (/as/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “As” sits inside “alas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17710, 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/. As is at rank #22, tagged as anoun, pronounced /as/.
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 17710, this pair ranks #53,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alas vs As
Shared letters: as. Private to "alas": l. Private to "As": -.
"alas" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "As" · 2 letters · shape VC
Known mistypes of this pair
- alas ← aals · alass · allas · alsa · laas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alas" and "As" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "alas" or "As" 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 "As" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alas" and "As" 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 #53,471 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.