Which to use
“autoritären” is an adjective and “Autoritäten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,431
- “autoritären” frequency rank
- #30,935
- “Autoritäten” frequency rank
- 54366
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | autoritären | Autoritäten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs autoritär | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Autorität |
Where the eye mixes autoritären and Autoritäten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. autoritären and Autoritäten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCVCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses autoritären with Autoritäten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: autoritären is [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːʁən] while Autoritäten is [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “autoritären” becomes t in “Autoritäten”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54366, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
autoritären is recorded at frequency rank #23,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːʁən]. 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 54366, this pair ranks #1,021,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of autoritären vs Autoritäten
Shared letters: aeinortuä. Private to "autoritären": -. Private to "Autoritäten": -.
"autoritären" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC · "Autoritäten" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "autoritären" for "Autoritäten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "autoritären" or "Autoritäten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "autoritären" and "Autoritäten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "autoritären" 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 #1,021,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "autoritären" and "Autoritäten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autoritär vs autoritären". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,021,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.