Which to use
“Ernste” is a noun and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,646
- “Ernste” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 10896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ernste | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Ernst | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the eye mixes Ernste and erste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Ernste runs 6 letters (VCCCCV) against erste's 5 (VCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Ernste vs erste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ernste is [ˈɛʁnstə] 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 10896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ernste is recorded at frequency rank #10,646, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛʁnstə]. 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 10896, this pair ranks #1,972,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ernste vs erste
Shared letters: erst. Private to "Ernste": n. Private to "erste": -.
"Ernste" · 6 letters · shape VCCCCV · "erste" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Ernste" for "erste" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Ernste" vs "erste" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Ernste" and "erste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ernste" 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 #1,972,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ernste" and "erste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erbse vs Ernste". 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 #1,972,770 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.