Which to use
“älteste” and “ältester” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,334
- “älteste” frequency rank
- #20,144
- “ältester” frequency rank
- 25478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | älteste | ältester |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes älteste and ältester
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. älteste runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against ältester's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between älteste and ältester
A purely visual mix-up. älteste ([ˈɛltəstə]) and ältester ([ˈɛltəstɐ]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “älteste” sits inside “ältester”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
älteste is recorded at frequency rank #5,334, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəstə]. ältester is at rank #20,144, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəstɐ].
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 25478, this pair ranks #1,832,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of älteste vs ältester
Shared letters: elstä. Private to "älteste": -. Private to "ältester": r.
"älteste" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "ältester" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "älteste" and "ältester" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "älteste" or "ältester" show up more?
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 "älteste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ältester" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,832,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "älteste" and "ältester" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ältester vs Altmeister". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,832,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.