Which to use
“alters” is an adverb and “Ämtern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,387
- “alters” frequency rank
- #13,533
- “Ämtern” frequency rank
- 19920
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alters | Ämtern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seit jeher, seit langer Zeit | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Amt |
Where the eye mixes alters and Ämtern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. alters and Ämtern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between alters and Ämtern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alters is [ˈaltɐs] while Ämtern is [ˈɛmtɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alters is recorded at frequency rank #6,387, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈaltɐs]. Ämtern is at rank #13,533, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛmtɐn].
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 19920, this pair ranks #1,903,228 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of alters vs Ämtern
Shared letters: ert. Private to "alters": als. Private to "Ämtern": mnä.
"alters" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "Ämtern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- alters ← aletrs · allters · alterrs · alterss · altesr · altres · altters · atlers
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "alters" for "Ämtern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "alters" or "Ämtern"?
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 "alters" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ämtern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,228 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alters" and "Ämtern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "altert vs Ämtern". 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 #1,903,228 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.