ÄmtervsÄmternTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,489
“Ämter” frequency rank
#13,533
“Ämtern” frequency rank
23022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ämter Ämtern
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Amt Dativ Plural des Substantivs Amt

Where the eye mixes Ämter and Ämtern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ämter runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against Ämtern's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Ämter
6 ch
Ämtern

Look-alike desk: Ämter vs Ämtern

A purely visual mix-up. Ämter ([ˈɛmtɐ]) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Ämter” sits inside “Ämtern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ämter is recorded at frequency rank #9,489, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛmtɐ]. 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 23022, this pair ranks #1,866,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ämter vs Ämtern

Shared letters: emrtä. Private to "Ämter": -. Private to "Ämtern": n.

"Ämter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Ämtern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ämter" and "Ämtern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛmtɐ] versus [ˈɛmtɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Ämter" vs "Ämtern" - which ranks higher?
"Ämter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,489 in our German list, against #13,533 for "Ämtern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ämter" 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 #1,866,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ämter" and "Ämtern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "altert vs Ämtern". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,866,753 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