Which to use
“Ernste” is a noun and “ersten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,646
- “Ernste” frequency rank
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- 10806
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ernste | ersten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Ernst | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ernste and ersten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Ernste and ersten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10806, 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]. ersten is at rank #160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩].
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 10806, this pair ranks #1,973,221 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Ernste" and "ersten" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Ernste vs ersten
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Ernste”; for an adjective, it's “ersten”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Ernste” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable