alcevsangeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,754
“alce” frequency rank
#32,455
“ange” frequency rank
81209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alce ange
Definition 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.] anjo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alce and ange apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
alce
4 ch
ange

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alce (/ˈaɫ.sɨ/) and ange (/ɑ̃ʒ/) 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 81209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alce is recorded at frequency rank #48,754, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɫ.sɨ/. ange is at rank #32,455, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɑ̃ʒ/.

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 81209, this pair ranks #1,202 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alce vs ange

Shared letters: ae. Private to "alce": cl. Private to "ange": gn.

"alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ange" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcealcce · alec · allce · lace
  • angeagne · aneg · angge · annge · nage

Frequency comparison

alce#48,754
ange#32,455

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alce" and "ange" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈaɫ.sɨ/ versus /ɑ̃ʒ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alce" or "ange"?
"ange" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,455 in our Portuguese list, against #48,754 for "alce". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alce vs ange

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 “alce” 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