Which to use
“Bakterien” and “Bakterium” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,895
- “Bakterien” frequency rank
- #47,235
- “Bakterium” frequency rank
- 54130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bakterien | Bakterium |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bakterie | sich teilendes, einzelliges, prokaryotisches Lebewesen ohne Zellkern |
Where the eye mixes Bakterien and Bakterium
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Bakterien and Bakterium follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Bakterien and Bakterium
A purely visual mix-up. Bakterien ([bakˈteːʁiən]) and Bakterium ([bakˈteːʁiʊm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bakterien is recorded at frequency rank #6,895, classified as anoun, pronounced [bakˈteːʁiən]. Bakterium is at rank #47,235, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bakˈteːʁiʊm].
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 54130, this pair ranks #1,030,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Bakterien vs Bakterium
Shared letters: abeikrt. Private to "Bakterien": n. Private to "Bakterium": mu.
"Bakterien" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "Bakterium" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Bakterien" and "Bakterium" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Bakterien" or "Bakterium"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Bakterien" and "Bakterium" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bakterien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bakterium" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,030,941 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bakterien" and "Bakterium" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bakterien vs Batterien". 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 #1,030,941 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.