elementarvselementareConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#34,063
“elementar” frequency rank
#26,375
“elementare” frequency rank
60438
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elementar elementare
Definition grundlegend, wesentlich Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs elementar

Where the eye mixes elementar and elementare

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
elementar
10 ch
elementare

Visual trap between elementar and elementare

A purely visual mix-up. elementar ([eləmɛnˈtaːɐ̯]) and elementare ([eləmɛnˈtaːʁə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “elementar” sits inside “elementare”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elementar is recorded at frequency rank #34,063, classified as anadj, pronounced [eləmɛnˈtaːɐ̯]. elementare is at rank #26,375, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eləmɛnˈtaːʁə].

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 60438, this pair ranks #787,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of elementar vs elementare

Shared letters: aelmnrt. Private to "elementar": -. Private to "elementare": -.

"elementar" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC  ·  "elementare" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elementareelmentar · eleemntar · elemenatr · elemenntar · elementarr · elementra · elementtar · elemetnar
  • elementareeelmentare · eleemntare · elemenatre · elemenntare · elementaer · elementarre · elementrae · elementtare

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "elementar" for "elementare" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eləmɛnˈtaːɐ̯] versus [eləmɛnˈtaːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "elementar" or "elementare"?
"elementare" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,375 in our German list, against #34,063 for "elementar". 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 "elementar" and "elementare" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "elementar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "elementare" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #787,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elementar" and "elementare" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elementar vs elementarer". 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 #787,000 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