älterervsälteresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“älterer” and “älteres” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,315
“älterer” frequency rank
#23,390
“älteres” frequency rank
31705
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature älterer älteres
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Komparativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs alt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set älterer and älteres apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
älterer
7 ch
älteres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. älterer ([ˈɛltəʁɐ]) 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 - r in “älterer” becomes s in “älteres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

älterer is recorded at frequency rank #8,315, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəʁɐ]. 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 31705, this pair ranks #1,722,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of älterer vs älteres

Shared letters: elrtä. Private to "älterer": -. Private to "älteres": s.

"älterer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "älteres" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

älterer#8,315
älteres#23,390

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "älterer" and "älteres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛltəʁɐ] versus [ˈɛltəʁəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "älterer" or "älteres"?
"älterer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,315 in our German list, against #23,390 for "älteres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering älterer vs älteres

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “älterer” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list