Which to use
“erstem” and “erstes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,228
- “erstem” frequency rank
- #1,510
- “erstes” frequency rank
- 19738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstem | erstes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erste |
Where the eye mixes erstem and erstes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. erstem and erstes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between erstem and erstes
A purely visual mix-up. erstem ([ˈeːɐ̯stəm]) and erstes ([ˈeːɐ̯stəs]) 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 a single letter - m in “erstem” becomes s in “erstes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstem is recorded at frequency rank #18,228, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stəm]. 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 19738, this pair ranks #1,905,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erstem vs erstes
Shared letters: erst. Private to "erstem": m. Private to "erstes": -.
"erstem" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "erstes" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstem" and "erstes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erstem" or "erstes"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erstem" and "erstes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstem" 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 #1,905,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstem" and "erstes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Easter vs erstem". 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 #1,905,131 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.