entrevsextremWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: entre is a verb, extrem is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“entre” is a verb and “extrem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,711
“entre” frequency rank
#1,511
“extrem” frequency rank
40222
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entre extrem
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entern in irgend einem Maße nicht zu übertreffen; am weitesten von der Mitte oder dem Durchschnitt entfernt

Where the eye mixes entre and extrem

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

5 ch
entre
6 ch
extrem

Look-alike desk: entre vs extrem

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entre is [ˈɛntʁə] while extrem is [ɛksˈtʁeːm]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40222, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entre is recorded at frequency rank #38,711, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛntʁə]. extrem is at rank #1,511, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛksˈtʁeːm].

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 40222, this pair ranks #1,514,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entre vs extrem

Shared letters: ert. Private to "entre": n. Private to "extrem": mx.

"entre" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "extrem" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entreenntre · enter · entrre · enttre · etnre · netre
  • extremetxrem · exrtem · exterm · extremm · extrme · extrrem · exttrem · exxtrem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entre" for "extrem" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entre" is a verb and "extrem" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "entre" or "extrem"?
"extrem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,511 in our German list, against #38,711 for "entre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "entre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "extrem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,514,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entre" and "extrem" 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 #1,514,689 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