AchtevsAchterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Achte” and “Achter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,756
“Achte” frequency rank
#18,146
“Achter” frequency rank
24902
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Achte Achter
Definition Synonym für den Monat August im kaufmännischen und Verwaltungsbereich die Ziffer 8 oder etwas, das die Ziffer 8 trägt (zum Beispiel ein Sportler mit der Trikotnummer 8)

Where the eye mixes Achte and Achter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Achte
6 ch
Achter

Look-alike desk: Achte vs Achter

A purely visual mix-up. Achte ([ˈaxtə]) and Achter ([ˈaxtɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Achte” sits inside “Achter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Achte is recorded at frequency rank #6,756, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaxtə]. Achter is at rank #18,146, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaxtɐ].

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 24902, this pair ranks #1,840,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Achte vs Achter

Shared letters: aceht. Private to "Achte": -. Private to "Achter": r.

"Achte" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "Achter" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Achteacchte · achet · achhte · achtte · acthe · ahcte · cahte
  • Achteracchter · achetr · achhter · achterr · achtre · achtter · acther · ahcter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Achte" and "Achter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaxtə] versus [ˈaxtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Achte" or "Achter"?
"Achte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,756 in our German list, against #18,146 for "Achter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Achte" and "Achter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Achte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Achter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,840,979 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Achte" and "Achter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Achter vs Auster". 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 #1,840,979 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list