Which to use
“Ernste” is a noun and “erstes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,646
- “Ernste” frequency rank
- #1,510
- “erstes” frequency rank
- 12156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ernste | erstes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Ernst | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes Ernste and erstes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ernste is [ˈɛʁnstə] while erstes is [ˈeːɐ̯stəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12156, 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]. erstes is at rank #1,510, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stəs].
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 12156, this pair ranks #1,965,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Ernste vs erstes
Shared letters: erst. Private to "Ernste": n. Private to "erstes": -.
"Ernste" · 6 letters · shape VCCCCV · "erstes" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Ernste" and "erstes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Ernste" or "erstes"?
What to do next
You've compared "Ernste" and "erstes". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Ernste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Ernste" and "erstes" 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.