CentervscounterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,511
“Center” frequency rank
#25,500
“counter” frequency rank
29011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Center counter
Definition Ansammlung von vielen Einzelhandelsgeschäften unter einem Dach Schalter

Letter map: Center vs counter

Shared letters muted; letters that set Center and counter apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

6 ch
Center
7 ch
counter

Spelling & dictionary notes on Center vs counter

Center and counter are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Center is recorded at frequency rank #3,511, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsɛntɐ]. counter is at rank #25,500, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 29011, this pair ranks #1,774,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Center vs counter

Shared letters: cenrt. Private to "Center": -. Private to "counter": ou.

"Center" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "counter" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Centerccenter · cenetr · cennter · centerr · centter · cetner · cneter · ecnter
  • counterccounter · conuter · counetr · counnter · counterr · countre · countter · coutner

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Center" and "counter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Center" or "counter"?
"Center" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,511 in our German list, against #25,500 for "counter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "Center" and "counter". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Center" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "counter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,774,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Center" and "counter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "counter vs puzzles". 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 #1,774,622 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