Which to use
“eilten” is a verb and “ersten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,547
- “eilten” frequency rank
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- 44707
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilten | ersten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes eilten and ersten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eilten vs ersten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilten is [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩] while ersten is [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilten is recorded at frequency rank #44,547, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]. ersten is at rank #160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩].
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 44707, this pair ranks #1,377,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eilten vs ersten
Shared letters: ent. Private to "eilten": il. Private to "ersten": rs.
"eilten" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC · "ersten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eilten" for "ersten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "eilten" vs "ersten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ersten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,377,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilten" and "ersten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilten 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 #1,377,356 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.