alcevsaxeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#48,754
“alce” frequency rank
#33,285
“axe” frequency rank
82039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alce axe
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.] machado, acha

Letter map: alce vs axe

Shared letters muted; letters that set alce and axe apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
alce
3 ch
axe

Corpus notes: alce and axe

alce and axe are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82039, 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/. axe is at rank #33,285, tagged as anoun.

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 82039, this pair ranks #1,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alce vs axe

Shared letters: ae. Private to "alce": cl. Private to "axe": x.

"alce" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "axe" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcealcce · alec · allce · lace

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alce" and "axe" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "alce" or "axe" show up more?
"axe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,285 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.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "alce" and "axe".

  • Full dictionary entry for "alce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "axe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alce" and "axe" 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 #1,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list