Which to use
“Elster” is a noun and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,613
- “Elster” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 15863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Elster | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein langschwänziger Vogel (Pica und verwandte Gattungen) aus der Familie der Rabenvögel (Corvidae) | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the eye mixes Elster and erste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Elster vs erste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Elster is [ˈɛlstɐ] while erste is [ˈeːɐ̯stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Elster is recorded at frequency rank #15,613, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlstɐ]. erste is at rank #250, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stə].
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 15863, this pair ranks #1,940,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Elster vs erste
Shared letters: erst. Private to "Elster": l. Private to "erste": -.
"Elster" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "erste" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Elster" for "erste" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Elster" or "erste"?
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 "Elster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,940,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Elster" and "erste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Easter vs Elster". 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 #1,940,545 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.