Which to use
“Altar” is a noun and “ALTE” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,164
- “Altar” frequency rank
- #498
- “ALTE” frequency rank
- 8662
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Altar | ALTE |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tischähnliche Einrichtung (zum Beispiel in einer Kirche) zur Feier eines Gottesdienstes, zur kultischen Verehrung oder für das Abhalten von Ritualen | Apparent Life Threatening Event = anscheinend lebensbedrohliches Ereignis (Bezeichnung eines akuten Zustandes bei Neugeborenen oder Säuglingen mit Apnoe, Zyanose oder Blässe, verändertem Muskeltonus sowie Bradykardie) |
Where the eye mixes Altar and ALTE
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Altar and ALTE
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Altar is [alˈtaːɐ̯] while ALTE is [ˈaltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Altar is recorded at frequency rank #8,164, classified as anoun, pronounced [alˈtaːɐ̯]. ALTE is at rank #498, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈaltə].
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 8662, this pair ranks #1,983,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Altar vs ALTE
Shared letters: alt. Private to "Altar": r. Private to "ALTE": e.
"Altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "ALTE" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Altar" and "ALTE" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Altar" vs "ALTE" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Altar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ALTE" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,983,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Altar" and "ALTE" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Altach vs Altar". 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 #1,983,377 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.