prekärevsprekärenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,717
“prekäre” frequency rank
#30,241
“prekären” frequency rank
62958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prekäre prekären
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs prekär Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs prekär

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prekäre and prekären apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
prekäre
8 ch
prekären

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prekäre ([pʁeˈkɛːʁə]) and prekären ([pʁeˈkɛːʁən]) 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) - “prekäre” sits inside “prekären”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prekäre is recorded at frequency rank #32,717, classified as anadj, pronounced [pʁeˈkɛːʁə]. prekären is at rank #30,241, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pʁeˈkɛːʁən].

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 62958, this pair ranks #693,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prekäre vs prekären

Shared letters: ekprä. Private to "prekäre": -. Private to "prekären": n.

"prekäre" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "prekären" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

prekäre#32,717
prekären#30,241

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prekäre" and "prekären" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pʁeˈkɛːʁə] versus [pʁeˈkɛːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prekäre" or "prekären"?
"prekären" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,241 in our German list, against #32,717 for "prekäre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prekäre vs prekären

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 “prekäre” 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