Which to use
“Alter” is a noun and “älteren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #455
- “Alter” frequency rank
- #2,376
- “älteren” frequency rank
- 2831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Alter | älteren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | alter Mann | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Komparativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes Alter and älteren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Alter vs älteren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Alter is [ˈaltɐ] while älteren is [ˈɛltəʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Alter is recorded at frequency rank #455, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltɐ]. älteren is at rank #2,376, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəʁən].
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 2831, this pair ranks #2,001,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Alter vs älteren
Shared letters: elrt. Private to "Alter": a. Private to "älteren": nä.
"Alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "älteren" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Alter ← aletr · allter · alterr · altre · altter · atler
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Alter" and "älteren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Alter" vs "älteren" - 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 "Alter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "älteren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Alter" and "älteren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "älteren vs Azteken". 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 #2,001,488 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.