echtemvsechterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,688
“echtem” frequency rank
#3,721
“echter” frequency rank
26409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature echtem echter
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs echt

Where the eye mixes echtem and echter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
echtem
6 ch
echter

Why the eye confuses echtem with echter

A purely visual mix-up. echtem ([ˈɛçtəm]) and echter ([ˈɛçtɐ]) 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 a single letter - m in “echtem” becomes r in “echter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

echtem is recorded at frequency rank #22,688, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtəm]. echter is at rank #3,721, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtɐ].

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 26409, this pair ranks #1,818,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of echtem vs echter

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "echtem": m. Private to "echter": r.

"echtem" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "echter" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • echtemcehtem · ecchtem · echetm · echhtem · echtemm · echtme · echttem · ecthem
  • echtercehter · ecchter · echetr · echhter · echterr · echtre · echtter · ecther

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "echtem" for "echter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛçtəm] versus [ˈɛçtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "echtem" vs "echter" - which ranks higher?
"echter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,721 in our German list, against #22,688 for "echtem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "echtem" and "echter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "echtem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "echter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,818,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "echtem" and "echter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Easter vs echter". 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 #1,818,566 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