Which to use
“ersten” and “erstes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #160
- “ersten” frequency rank
- #1,510
- “erstes” frequency rank
- 1670
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ersten | erstes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv 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 ersten and erstes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. ersten ([ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]) 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 - n in “ersten” becomes s in “erstes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1670, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ersten is recorded at frequency rank #160, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stn̩]. 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 1670, this pair ranks #2,003,928 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ersten vs erstes
Shared letters: erst. Private to "ersten": n. Private to "erstes": -.
"ersten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "erstes" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC