Which to use
“Akteur” and “Alter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,514
- “Akteur” frequency rank
- #455
- “Alter” frequency rank
- 21969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Akteur | Alter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die handelt, die etwas tut | alter Mann |
Where the eye mixes Akteur and Alter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Akteur vs Alter
A purely visual mix-up. Akteur ([akˈtøːɐ̯]) and Alter ([ˈaltɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Akteur is recorded at frequency rank #21,514, classified as anoun, pronounced [akˈtøːɐ̯]. Alter is at rank #455, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltɐ].
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 21969, this pair ranks #1,879,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Akteur vs Alter
Shared letters: aert. Private to "Akteur": ku. Private to "Alter": l.
"Akteur" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "Alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Akteur" for "Alter" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Akteur" or "Alter"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Akteur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Alter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,879,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Akteur" and "Alter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alter 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 #1,879,971 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.