Which to use
“echte” is an adjective and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,691
- “echte” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 1941
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | echte | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs echt | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set echte and erste apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
echte and erste form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
echte is recorded at frequency rank #1,691, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtə]. erste is at rank #250, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stə].
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 1941, this pair ranks #2,003,425 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "echte" and "erste" be used interchangeably?
Remembering echte vs erste
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “echte”; for a num, it's “erste”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “echte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable