Which to use
“order” and “ordre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,761
- “order” frequency rank
- #32,196
- “ordre” frequency rank
- 40957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | order | ordre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ordern | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ordern |
Where the eye mixes order and ordre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. order (VCCVC) and ordre (VCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses order with ordre
A purely visual mix-up. order ([ˈɔʁdɐ]) and ordre ([ˈɔʁdʁə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (er ↔ re) - a transposition the eye reads straight past. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
order is recorded at frequency rank #8,761, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɔʁdɐ]. ordre is at rank #32,196, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɔʁdʁə].
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 40957, this pair ranks #1,493,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of order vs ordre
Shared letters: deor. Private to "order": -. Private to "ordre": -.
"order" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "ordre" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "order" and "ordre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "order" vs "ordre" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "order" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ordre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,493,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "order" and "ordre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "orders vs ordre". 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 #1,493,452 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.