Which to use
“Alter” and “Anker” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #455
- “Alter” frequency rank
- #11,001
- “Anker” frequency rank
- 11456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Alter | Anker |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | alter Mann | Eisenhaken an einer langen Kette zum Festlegen schwimmender Fahrzeuge am Fluss- oder Meeresboden |
Where the eye mixes Alter and Anker
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Alter vs Anker
A purely visual mix-up. Alter ([ˈaltɐ]) and Anker ([ˈaŋkɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Alter is recorded at frequency rank #455, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltɐ]. Anker is at rank #11,001, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaŋkɐ].
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 11456, this pair ranks #1,969,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Alter vs Anker
Shared letters: aer. Private to "Alter": lt. Private to "Anker": kn.
"Alter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Anker" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Alter" for "Anker" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Alter" vs "Anker" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Alter" and "Anker" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Alter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Anker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Alter" and "Anker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Anker vs answer". 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 #1,969,783 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.