Which to use
“aalen” is a verb and “alten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,801
- “aalen” frequency rank
- #416
- “alten” frequency rank
- 12217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aalen | alten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich ausstrecken, (zum Beispiel im Bett, in der Sonne, am Strand) faulenzen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes aalen and alten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. aalen (VVCVC) and alten (VCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: aalen vs alten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aalen is [ˈaːlən] while alten is [ˈaltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aalen is recorded at frequency rank #11,801, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaːlən]. alten is at rank #416, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaltn̩].
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 12217, this pair ranks #1,965,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aalen vs alten
Shared letters: aeln. Private to "aalen": -. Private to "alten": t.
"aalen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "alten" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aalen" for "alten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "aalen" vs "alten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aalen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aalen" and "alten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aalen vs Avalon". 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 #1,965,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.