AmpelnvsÄmternTell them apart

Which to use

“Ampeln” and “Ämtern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,120
“Ampeln” frequency rank
#13,533
“Ämtern” frequency rank
32653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ampeln Ämtern
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ampel Dativ Plural des Substantivs Amt

Where the eye mixes Ampeln and Ämtern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Ampeln
6 ch
Ämtern

Why the eye confuses Ampeln with Ämtern

A purely visual mix-up. Ampeln ([ˈampl̩n]) and Ämtern ([ˈɛmtɐn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ampeln is recorded at frequency rank #19,120, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈampl̩n]. 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 32653, this pair ranks #1,702,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ampeln vs Ämtern

Shared letters: emn. Private to "Ampeln": alp. Private to "Ämtern": rtä.

"Ampeln" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Ämtern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ampelnamepln · ammpeln · ampelln · ampelnn · ampenl · amplen · amppeln · apmeln

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Ampeln" and "Ämtern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈampl̩n] versus [ˈɛmtɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ampeln" or "Ämtern"?
"Ämtern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,533 in our German list, against #19,120 for "Ampeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ampeln" 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 #1,702,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ampeln" and "Ämtern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ampeln vs apel". 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 #1,702,982 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list