alevsalemãWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ale is a noun, alemã is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ale” is a noun and “alemã” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,419
“ale” frequency rank
#4,970
“alemã” frequency rank
22389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ale alemã
Definition reflexo da lua na água forma feminina de alemão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ale and alemã apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ale
5 ch
alemã

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ale is anoun and alemãanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ale” sits inside “alemã”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ale is recorded at frequency rank #17,419, classified as anoun, pronounced /a.ˈle/. alemã is at rank #4,970, tagged as anadj.

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 22389, this pair ranks #47,664 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ale vs alemã

Shared letters: ael. Private to "ale": -. Private to "alemã": .

"ale" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "alemã" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Frequency comparison

ale#17,419
alemã#4,970

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ale" and "alemã" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ale" is a noun and "alemã" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ale" or "alemã"?
"alemã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,970 in our Portuguese list, against #17,419 for "ale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ale vs alemã

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ale”; for an adjective, it's “alemã”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ale” 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