EntevsErnteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,642
“Ente” frequency rank
#7,313
“Ernte” frequency rank
17955
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ente Ernte
Definition kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell sämtliche Arbeiten, die zum Einbringen landwirtschaftlicher Gewächse und Früchte notwendig sind

Where the eye mixes Ente and Ernte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Ente
5 ch
Ernte

Look-alike desk: Ente vs Ernte

A purely visual mix-up. Ente ([ˈɛntə]) and Ernte ([ˈɛʁntə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17955, 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]. Ernte is at rank #7,313, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁntə].

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 17955, this pair ranks #1,922,737 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ente vs Ernte

Shared letters: ent. Private to "Ente": -. Private to "Ernte": r.

"Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "Ernte" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Enteenet · ennte · etne
  • Ernteenrte · ernet · ernnte · erntte · errnte · ertne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ente" for "Ernte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛntə] versus [ˈɛʁntə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ente" or "Ernte"?
"Ernte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,313 in our German list, against #10,642 for "Ente". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ernte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,922,737 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ente" and "Ernte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ente vs Erle". 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 #1,922,737 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