AtemvsATMWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Atem is a noun, ATM is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Atem” is a noun and “ATM” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,150
“Atem” frequency rank
#29,005
“ATM” frequency rank
35155
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Atem ATM
Definition der aus den Lungen abgegebene Luftstrom, hauptsächlich Stickstoff, Sauerstoff, Kohlendioxid und Wasserdampf Automatenmarke(n)

Where the eye mixes Atem and ATM

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

4 ch
Atem
3 ch
ATM

Look-alike desk: Atem vs ATM

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Atem is [ˈaːtəm] while ATM is [aːteːˈʔɛm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35155, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Atem is recorded at frequency rank #6,150, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːtəm]. ATM is at rank #29,005, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [aːteːˈʔɛm].

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 35155, this pair ranks #1,646,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Atem vs ATM

Shared letters: amt. Private to "Atem": e. Private to "ATM": -.

"Atem" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "ATM" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Atemaetm · atemm · attem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Atem" for "ATM" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Atem" is a noun and "ATM" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Atem" or "ATM"?
"Atem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,150 in our German list, against #29,005 for "ATM". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Atem" and "ATM" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Atem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ATM" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,646,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Atem" and "ATM" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ATM vs AUD". 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 #1,646,750 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