Which to use
“altere” is a verb and “alters” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,169
- “altere” frequency rank
- #6,387
- “alters” frequency rank
- 42556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | altere | alters |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs altern | seit jeher, seit langer Zeit |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set altere and alters apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: altere is [ˈaltəʁə] while alters is [ˈaltɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “altere” becomes s in “alters”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
altere is recorded at frequency rank #36,169, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaltəʁə]. alters is at rank #6,387, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈaltɐs].
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 42556, this pair ranks #1,445,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of altere vs alters
Shared letters: aelrt. Private to "altere": -. Private to "alters": s.
"altere" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "alters" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "altere" and "alters" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "altere" or "alters"?
Remembering altere vs alters
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “altere”; for an adverb, it's “alters”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “altere” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable