echtvsechtemTell them apart

Which to use

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

#394
“echt” frequency rank
#22,688
“echtem” frequency rank
23082
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature echt echtem
Definition unverfälscht Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt

Where the eye mixes echt and echtem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
echt
6 ch
echtem

Look-alike desk: echt vs echtem

A purely visual mix-up. echt ([ɛçt]) and echtem ([ˈɛçtəm]) 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) - “echt” sits inside “echtem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

echt is recorded at frequency rank #394, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛçt]. echtem is at rank #22,688, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtəm].

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 23082, this pair ranks #1,865,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of echt vs echtem

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "echt": -. Private to "echtem": m.

"echt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "echtem" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • echtceht · eccht · echht · echtt · ecth · ehct
  • echtemcehtem · ecchtem · echetm · echhtem · echtemm · echtme · echttem · ecthem

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "echt" and "echtem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛçt] versus [ˈɛçtəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "echt" vs "echtem" - which ranks higher?
"echt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #394 in our German list, against #22,688 for "echtem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "echt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "echtem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,865,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "echt" and "echtem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "EBIT vs echt". 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 #1,865,997 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