altesvsaresWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: altes is a adjective, ares is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“altes” is an adjective and “ares” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,501
“altes” frequency rank
#41,652
“ares” frequency rank
45153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature altes ares
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt 2. Person Singular Konjunktiv Präsens Aktiv des Verbs arare

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set altes and ares apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
altes
4 ch
ares

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: altes is anadjective and aresaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

altes is recorded at frequency rank #3,501, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaltəs]. ares is at rank #41,652, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 45153, this pair ranks #1,362,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of altes vs ares

Shared letters: aes. Private to "altes": lt. Private to "ares": r.

"altes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "ares" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • altes ← alets · alltes · altess · altse · alttes · atles · lates
  • ares ← aers · aress · arres · arse · raes

Frequency comparison

altes#3,501
ares#41,652

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "altes" and "ares" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "altes" is an adjective and "ares" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "altes" or "ares"?
"altes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,501 in our German list, against #41,652 for "ares". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering altes vs ares

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “altes”; for a verb, it's “ares”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “altes” 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