Which to use
“Altar” and “Alter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,164
- “Altar” frequency rank
- #455
- “Alter” frequency rank
- 8619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Altar | Alter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tischähnliche Einrichtung (zum Beispiel in einer Kirche) zur Feier eines Gottesdienstes, zur kultischen Verehrung oder für das Abhalten von Ritualen | alter Mann |
Where the eye mixes Altar and Alter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Altar and Alter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Altar and Alter
A purely visual mix-up. Altar ([alˈtaːɐ̯]) 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 a single letter - a in “Altar” becomes e in “Alter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8619, 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]. 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 8619, this pair ranks #1,983,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Altar vs Alter
Shared letters: alrt. Private to "Altar": -. Private to "Alter": e.
"Altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Altar" for "Alter" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Altar" or "Alter" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Altar" 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 #1,983,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Altar" and "Alter" 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 #1,983,573 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.