Which to use
“Altar” and “Altern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,164
- “Altar” frequency rank
- #18,796
- “Altern” frequency rank
- 26960
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Altar | Altern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tischähnliche Einrichtung (zum Beispiel in einer Kirche) zur Feier eines Gottesdienstes, zur kultischen Verehrung oder für das Abhalten von Ritualen | Älterwerden |
Where the eye mixes Altar and Altern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Altar and Altern
A purely visual mix-up. Altar ([alˈtaːɐ̯]) and Altern ([ˈaltɐn]) 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 26960, 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]. Altern is at rank #18,796, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltɐn].
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 26960, this pair ranks #1,809,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Altar vs Altern
Shared letters: alrt. Private to "Altar": -. Private to "Altern": en.
"Altar" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Altern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Altar" for "Altern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Altar" or "Altern"?
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 "Altern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,809,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Altar" and "Altern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Altern vs alternde". 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 #1,809,541 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.