echtervsechtesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,721
“echter” frequency rank
#5,473
“echtes” frequency rank
9194
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature echter echtes
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs echt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt

Where the eye mixes echter and echtes

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

6 ch
echter
6 ch
echtes

Why the eye confuses echter with echtes

A purely visual mix-up. echter ([ˈɛçtɐ]) 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 - r in “echter” becomes s in “echtes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

echter is recorded at frequency rank #3,721, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtɐ]. 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 9194, this pair ranks #1,981,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of echter vs echtes

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "echter": r. Private to "echtes": s.

"echter" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "echtes" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • echtercehter · ecchter · echetr · echhter · echterr · echtre · echtter · ecther
  • echtescehtes · ecchtes · echets · echhtes · echtess · echtse · echttes · ecthes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "echter" and "echtes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛçtɐ] versus [ˈɛçtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "echter" or "echtes" show up more?
"echter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,721 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "echter" 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 #1,981,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "echter" and "echtes" 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 #1,981,036 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