letztenvsLetzterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: letzten is a adjective, Letzter is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“letzten” is an adjective and “Letzter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#279
“letzten” frequency rank
#1,702
“Letzter” frequency rank
1981
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature letzten Letzter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs letzte in einer zeitlichen, räumlichen oder rangmäßigen Abfolge am Ende Stehender

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set letzten and Letzter apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
letzten
7 ch
Letzter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

letzten and Letzter form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “letzten” becomes r in “Letzter” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

letzten is recorded at frequency rank #279, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛt͡stn̩]. Letzter is at rank #1,702, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛt͡stɐ].

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 1981, this pair ranks #2,003,332 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

letzten#279
Letzter#1,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "letzten" and "Letzter" be used interchangeably?
No, "letzten" and "Letzter" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering letzten vs Letzter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “letzten”; for a noun, it's “Letzter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “letzten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list