AutoritätvsAutoritätenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,987
“Autorität” frequency rank
#30,935
“Autoritäten” frequency rank
39922
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Autorität Autoritäten
Definition maßgebender Einfluss, Geltung, Ansehen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Autorität

Where the eye mixes Autorität and Autoritäten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Autorität runs 9 letters (VVCVCVCVC) against Autoritäten's 11 (VVCVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Autorität
11 ch
Autoritäten

Look-alike desk: Autorität vs Autoritäten

A purely visual mix-up. Autorität ([aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːt]) and Autoritäten ([aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Autorität” sits inside “Autoritäten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Autorität is recorded at frequency rank #8,987, classified as anoun, pronounced [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːt]. 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 39922, this pair ranks #1,523,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Autorität vs Autoritäten

Shared letters: aiortuä. Private to "Autorität": -. Private to "Autoritäten": en.

"Autorität" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCVCVC  ·  "Autoritäten" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Autorität" for "Autoritäten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːt] versus [aʊ̯toʁiˈtɛːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Autorität" or "Autoritäten"?
"Autorität" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,987 in our German list, against #30,935 for "Autoritäten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Autorität" 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 #1,523,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Autorität" and "Autoritäten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "autoritäre vs Autoritäten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,523,079 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