echtenvsechtesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,539
“echten” frequency rank
#5,473
“echtes” frequency rank
8012
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature echten echtes
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt

Where the eye mixes echten and echtes

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

6 ch
echten
6 ch
echtes

Look-alike desk: echten vs echtes

A purely visual mix-up. echten ([ˈɛçtn̩]) and echtes ([ˈɛçtəs]) 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 - n in “echten” becomes s in “echtes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

echten is recorded at frequency rank #2,539, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtn̩]. echtes is at rank #5,473, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtəs].

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 8012, this pair ranks #1,985,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of echten vs echtes

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "echten": n. Private to "echtes": s.

"echten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "echtes" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • echtencehten · ecchten · echetn · echhten · echtenn · echtne · echtten · ecthen
  • echtescehtes · ecchtes · echets · echhtes · echtess · echtse · echttes · ecthes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "echten" for "echtes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛçtn̩] versus [ˈɛçtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "echten" or "echtes"?
"echten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,539 in our German list, against #5,473 for "echtes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "echten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "echtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,985,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "echten" and "echtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "echten vs Exoten". 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 #1,985,963 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