AargauvsAargauerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Aargau is a name, Aargauer is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Aargau” is a name and “Aargauer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,800
“Aargau” frequency rank
#39,179
“Aargauer” frequency rank
58979
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aargau Aargauer
Definition Kanton in der Schweiz mit dem Hauptort Aarau den Kanton Aargau betreffend, von dort stammend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Aargau and Aargauer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Aargau
8 ch
Aargauer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aargau is [ˈaːɐ̯ˌɡaʊ̯] while Aargauer is [ˈaːɐ̯ˌɡaʊ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Aargau” sits inside “Aargauer”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58979, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aargau is recorded at frequency rank #19,800, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈaːɐ̯ˌɡaʊ̯]. Aargauer is at rank #39,179, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaːɐ̯ˌɡaʊ̯ɐ].

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 58979, this pair ranks #841,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Aargau vs Aargauer

Shared letters: agru. Private to "Aargau": -. Private to "Aargauer": e.

"Aargau" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVV  ·  "Aargauer" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aargauaagrau · aaragu · aarggau · aargua · aarrgau · aragau · argau
  • Aargaueraagrauer · aaraguer · aargaeur · aargauerr · aargaure · aarggauer · aarguaer · aarrgauer

Frequency comparison

Aargau#19,800
Aargauer#39,179

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Aargau" and "Aargauer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Aargau" is a name and "Aargauer" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Aargau" or "Aargauer"?
"Aargau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,800 in our German list, against #39,179 for "Aargauer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Aargau vs Aargauer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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