AmselvsÄmterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,326
“Amsel” frequency rank
#9,489
“Ämter” frequency rank
51815
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Amsel Ämter
Definition großer, schwarzer Singvogel mit gelbem Schnabel aus der Familie der Drosseln Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Amt

Where the eye mixes Amsel and Ämter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Amsel and Ämter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
Amsel
5 ch
Ämter

Why the eye confuses Amsel with Ämter

A purely visual mix-up. Amsel ([ˈamzəl]) and Ämter ([ˈɛmtɐ]) 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 51815, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Amsel is recorded at frequency rank #42,326, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈamzəl]. Ämter is at rank #9,489, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛmtɐ].

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 51815, this pair ranks #1,120,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Amsel vs Ämter

Shared letters: em. Private to "Amsel": als. Private to "Ämter": rtä.

"Amsel" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Ämter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Amsel ← amesl · ammsel · amsell · amsle · amssel · asmel · masel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Amsel" for "Ämter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈamzəl] versus [ˈɛmtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Amsel" or "Ämter"?
"Ämter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,489 in our German list, against #42,326 for "Amsel". 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 "Amsel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ämter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,120,993 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Amsel" and "Ämter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Amsel 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 #1,120,993 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