Which to use
“glätten” is a verb and “glatter” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,588
- “glätten” frequency rank
- #28,224
- “glatter” frequency rank
- 58812
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | glätten | glatter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unebenheit verringern, etwas glatter machen | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs glatt |
Where the eye mixes glätten and glatter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses glätten with glatter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: glätten is [ˈɡlɛtn̩] while glatter is [ˈɡlatɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
glätten is recorded at frequency rank #30,588, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlɛtn̩]. glatter is at rank #28,224, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlatɐ].
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 58812, this pair ranks #848,397 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of glätten vs glatter
Shared letters: eglt. Private to "glätten": nä. Private to "glatter": ar.
"glätten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "glatter" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- glatter ← galtter · gglatter · glater · glatetr · glatterr · glattre · gllatter · gltater
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "glätten" and "glatter" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "glätten" vs "glatter" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "glätten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "glatter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #848,397 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "glätten" and "glatter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glänzten vs glätten". 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 #848,397 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.