prekärvsprekäreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,576
“prekär” frequency rank
#32,717
“prekäre” frequency rank
72293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prekär prekäre
Definition widerruflich, unsicher Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs prekär

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
prekär
7 ch
prekäre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prekär ([pʁeˈkɛːɐ̯]) and prekäre ([pʁeˈkɛːʁə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “prekär” sits inside “prekäre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prekär is recorded at frequency rank #39,576, classified as anadj, pronounced [pʁeˈkɛːɐ̯]. prekäre is at rank #32,717, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pʁeˈkɛːʁə].

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 72293, this pair ranks #392,381 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of prekär vs prekäre

Shared letters: ekprä. Private to "prekär": -. Private to "prekäre": -.

"prekär" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "prekäre" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

prekär#39,576
prekäre#32,717

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prekär" and "prekäre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pʁeˈkɛːɐ̯] versus [pʁeˈkɛːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prekär" or "prekäre"?
"prekäre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,717 in our German list, against #39,576 for "prekär". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prekär vs prekäre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prekär” 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