apavsataWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: apa is a noun, ata is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“apa” is a noun and “ata” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,025
“apa” frequency rank
#46,479
“ata” frequency rank
61504
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apa ata
Definition Säugetier aus der Unterordnung Anthropoidea in der Ordnung der Primaten; Affe sie

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apa and ata apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
apa
3 ch
ata

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: apa is anoun and ataapronoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - p in “apa” becomes t in “ata”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apa is recorded at frequency rank #15,025, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɑpɑ]. ata is at rank #46,479, tagged as apron, pronounced […].

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 61504, this pair ranks #747,320 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apa vs ata

Shared letters: a. Private to "apa": p. Private to "ata": t.

"apa" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ata" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

apa#15,025
ata#46,479

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apa" and "ata" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "apa" is a noun and "ata" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "apa" or "ata"?
"apa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,025 in our German list, against #46,479 for "ata". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apa vs ata

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “apa”; for a pronoun, it's “ata”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “apa” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list