privatvsprivaterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,357
“privat” frequency rank
#8,259
“privater” frequency rank
10616
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature privat privater
Definition eine einzelne Person betreffend, im Gegensatz zu allgemeinen Bereichen der Gesellschaft (wie Unternehmen, Parteien oder Staaten) Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs privat

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
privat
8 ch
privater

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. privat ([pʁiˈvaːt]) and privater ([pʁiˈvaːtɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “privat” sits inside “privater”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

privat is recorded at frequency rank #2,357, classified as anadj, pronounced [pʁiˈvaːt]. privater is at rank #8,259, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pʁiˈvaːtɐ].

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 10616, this pair ranks #1,974,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of privat vs privater

Shared letters: aiprtv. Private to "privat": -. Private to "privater": e.

"privat" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "privater" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • privatpirvat · pprivat · priavt · privatt · privta · privvat · prrivat · prviat
  • privaterpirvater · pprivater · priavter · privaetr · privaterr · privatre · privatter · privtaer

Frequency comparison

privat#2,357
privater#8,259

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "privat" and "privater" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pʁiˈvaːt] versus [pʁiˈvaːtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "privat" or "privater"?
"privat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,357 in our German list, against #8,259 for "privater". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering privat vs privater

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 “privat” 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