Which to use
“autoritäre” is an adjective and “Autoritäten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,019
- “autoritäre” frequency rank
- #30,935
- “Autoritäten” frequency rank
- 59954
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | autoritäre | Autoritäten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs autoritär | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Autorität |
Where the eye mixes autoritäre and Autoritäten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. autoritäre runs 10 letters (VVCVCVCVCV) against Autoritäten's 11 (VVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses autoritäre with Autoritäten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: autoritäre is [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːʁə] while Autoritäten is [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːtn̩]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
autoritäre is recorded at frequency rank #29,019, classified as anadj, pronounced [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːʁə]. Autoritäten is at rank #30,935, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːtn̩].
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 59954, this pair ranks #805,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of autoritäre vs Autoritäten
Shared letters: aeiortuä. Private to "autoritäre": -. Private to "Autoritäten": n.
"autoritäre" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCV · "Autoritäten" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "autoritäre" and "Autoritäten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "autoritäre" or "Autoritäten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "autoritäre" and "Autoritäten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "autoritäre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Autoritäten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #805,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "autoritäre" and "Autoritäten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autoritär vs autoritäre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #805,129 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.