Which to use
“allem” is an unknown and “Alter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #239
- “allem” frequency rank
- #455
- “Alter” frequency rank
- 694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allem | Alter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | maskuliner und neutraler Dativ Singular des Indefinitpronomens alle | alter Mann |
Where the eye mixes allem and Alter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses allem with Alter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allem is [ˈaləm] while Alter is [ˈaltɐ]. 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 (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allem is recorded at frequency rank #239, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈaləm]. 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 694, this pair ranks #2,005,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of allem vs Alter
Shared letters: ael. Private to "allem": m. Private to "Alter": rt.
"allem" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "allem" and "Alter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "allem" 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 "allem" 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 #2,005,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allem" 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 #2,005,484 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.