Which to use
“älteren” and “älteres” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,376
- “älteren” frequency rank
- #23,390
- “älteres” frequency rank
- 25766
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | älteren | älteres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Komparativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes älteren and älteres
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. älteren and älteres follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: älteren vs älteres
A purely visual mix-up. älteren ([ˈɛltəʁən]) and älteres ([ˈɛltəʁəs]) 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 - n in “älteren” becomes s in “älteres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
älteren is recorded at frequency rank #2,376, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəʁən]. älteres is at rank #23,390, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəʁəs].
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 25766, this pair ranks #1,828,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of älteren vs älteres
Shared letters: elrtä. Private to "älteren": n. Private to "älteres": s.
"älteren" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "älteres" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "älteren" for "älteres" ever safe?
Frequency check: "älteren" vs "älteres" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "älteren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "älteres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,828,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "älteren" and "älteres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "älteres vs altert". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,828,324 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.