Which to use
“Ente” is a noun and “entre” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,642
- “Ente” frequency rank
- #38,711
- “entre” frequency rank
- 49353
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ente | entre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entern |
Where the eye mixes Ente and entre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Ente with entre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ente is [ˈɛntə] while entre is [ˈɛntʁə]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49353, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ente is recorded at frequency rank #10,642, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntə]. entre is at rank #38,711, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛntʁə].
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 49353, this pair ranks #1,214,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Ente vs entre
Shared letters: ent. Private to "Ente": -. Private to "entre": r.
"Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "entre" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Ente" and "entre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Ente" or "entre" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,214,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ente" and "entre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entre vs euere". 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 #1,214,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.