Which to use
“Eltern” is a noun and “extern” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #465
- “Eltern” frequency rank
- #26,863
- “extern” frequency rank
- 27328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Eltern | extern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vater und Mutter eines Kindes | außerhalb eines bestimmten implizit mitdefinierten Bezugsystems |
Where the eye mixes Eltern and extern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Eltern vs extern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Eltern is [ˈɛltɐn] while extern is [ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “Eltern” becomes x in “extern”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Eltern is recorded at frequency rank #465, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛltɐn]. extern is at rank #26,863, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌɛksˈtɛʁn].
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 27328, this pair ranks #1,803,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Eltern vs extern
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "Eltern": l. Private to "extern": x.
"Eltern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "extern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Eltern" and "extern" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Eltern" or "extern"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Eltern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,803,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Eltern" and "extern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Exoten vs extern". 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 #1,803,549 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.