JahnvsJahreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Jahn is a name, Jahre is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Jahn” is a name and “Jahre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,108
“Jahn” frequency rank
#145
“Jahre” frequency rank
12253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Jahn Jahre
Definition deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Jahr

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Jahn and Jahre apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Jahn
5 ch
Jahre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Jahn is [jaːn] while Jahre is [ˈjaːʁə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Jahn is recorded at frequency rank #12,108, classified as aname, pronounced [jaːn]. Jahre is at rank #145, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈjaːʁə].

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 12253, this pair ranks #1,965,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Jahn vs Jahre

Shared letters: ahj. Private to "Jahn": n. Private to "Jahre": er.

"Jahn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Jahre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Jahnajhn · jahhn · jahnn · janh · jhan · jjahn
  • Jahreajhre · jaher · jahhre · jahrre · jarhe · jhare · jjahre

Frequency comparison

Jahn#12,108
Jahre#145

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Jahn" and "Jahre" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Jahn" is a name and "Jahre" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Jahn" or "Jahre"?
"Jahre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #145 in our German list, against #12,108 for "Jahn". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Jahn vs Jahre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Jahn”; for a noun, it's “Jahre”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Jahn” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list