Which to use
“älteres” and “altes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,390
- “älteres” frequency rank
- #3,501
- “altes” frequency rank
- 26891
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | älteres | altes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs alt | Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes älteres and altes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. älteres runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against altes's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between älteres and altes
A purely visual mix-up. älteres ([ˈɛltəʁəs]) and altes ([ˈaltəs]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
älteres is recorded at frequency rank #23,390, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəʁəs]. altes is at rank #3,501, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaltəs].
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 26891, this pair ranks #1,810,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of älteres vs altes
Shared letters: elst. Private to "älteres": rä. Private to "altes": a.
"älteres" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "altes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- altes ← alets · alltes · altess · altse · alttes · atles · lates
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "älteres" for "altes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "älteres" vs "altes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "älteres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "altes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,810,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "älteres" and "altes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "älteres vs altert". 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 #1,810,694 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.