Which to use
“altes” is an adjective and “arts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,501
- “altes” frequency rank
- #12,659
- “arts” frequency rank
- 16160
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | altes | arts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt | Plural des Substantivs art |
Where the eye mixes altes and arts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses altes with arts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: altes is [ˈaltəs] while arts is [aː(ɹ)ts]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16160, 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]. arts is at rank #12,659, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aː(ɹ)ts].
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 16160, this pair ranks #1,938,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of altes vs arts
Shared letters: ast. Private to "altes": el. Private to "arts": r.
"altes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "arts" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "altes" for "arts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "altes" vs "arts" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "altes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,938,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "altes" and "arts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arosa vs arts". 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 #1,938,078 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.