ersteremvsersteresWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“ersterem” and “ersteres” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,850
“ersterem” frequency rank
#21,959
“ersteres” frequency rank
65809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ersterem ersteres
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstere Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs erstere

Where the eye mixes ersterem and ersteres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. ersterem and ersteres follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
ersterem
8 ch
ersteres

Look-alike desk: ersterem vs ersteres

A purely visual mix-up. ersterem ([ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəm]) and ersteres ([ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəs]) 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 “ersterem” becomes s in “ersteres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ersterem is recorded at frequency rank #43,850, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəm]. ersteres is at rank #21,959, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəs].

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 65809, this pair ranks #594,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ersterem vs ersteres

Shared letters: erst. Private to "ersterem": m. Private to "ersteres": -.

"ersterem" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "ersteres" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ersteremerrsterem · ersetrem · erssterem · ersteerm · ersteremm · ersterme · ersterrem · erstreem
  • erstereserrsteres · ersetres · erssteres · ersteers · ersteress · ersterres · ersterse · erstrees

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ersterem" and "ersteres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəm] versus [ˈeːɐ̯stəʁəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ersterem" vs "ersteres" - which ranks higher?
"ersteres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,959 in our German list, against #43,850 for "ersterem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ersterem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ersteres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #594,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ersterem" and "ersteres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ersterem vs ersterer". 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 #594,257 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list