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 eye mixes älterer and älteres
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. älterer and älteres follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between älterer and älteres
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "älterer" for "älteres" ever safe?
Frequency check: "älterer" 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 "älterer" 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 #1,722,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "älterer" and "älteres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "älteres vs altert". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,722,796 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.