Which to use
“ältester” is an adjective and “Altmeister” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,144
- “ältester” frequency rank
- #48,692
- “Altmeister” frequency rank
- 68836
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ältester | Altmeister |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt | jemand, der als vormaliger/bereits länger bewährter Meister eines Fachs, Metiers/einer Kunst anerkannt wird |
Where the eye mixes ältester and Altmeister
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ältester runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Altmeister's 10 (VCCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ältester with Altmeister
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ältester is [ˈɛltəstɐ] while Altmeister is [ˈaltˌmaɪ̯stɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 68836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ältester is recorded at frequency rank #20,144, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəstɐ]. Altmeister is at rank #48,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaltˌmaɪ̯stɐ].
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 68836, this pair ranks #495,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ältester vs Altmeister
Shared letters: elrst. Private to "ältester": ä. Private to "Altmeister": aim.
"ältester" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Altmeister" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Altmeister ← alltmeister · almteister · altemister · altmeisetr · altmeisster · altmeisterr · altmeistre · altmeistter
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ältester" for "Altmeister" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ältester" vs "Altmeister" - 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 "ältester" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Altmeister" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ältester" and "Altmeister" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alster vs ältester". 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 #495,352 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.