Which to use
“queer” is an adjective and “quere” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,251
- “queer” frequency rank
- #29,296
- “quere” frequency rank
- 59547
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | queer | quere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine nicht-heterosexuelle sexuelle Orientierung und/oder eine nicht-binäre und/oder transgeschlechtliche Geschlechtsidentität aufweisend oder sich darauf beziehend (meist als Ausdruck bewusster Abgrenzung zu einer empfundenen heterosexuellen und binär-cisgeschlechtlichen gesellschaftlichen Norm) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs queren |
Where the eye mixes queer and quere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. queer (CVVVC) and quere (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between queer and quere
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: queer is [kviːɐ̯] while quere is [ˈkveːʁə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (er ↔ re) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
queer is recorded at frequency rank #30,251, classified as anadj, pronounced [kviːɐ̯]. quere is at rank #29,296, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkveːʁə].
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 59547, this pair ranks #820,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of queer vs quere
Shared letters: eqru. Private to "queer": -. Private to "quere": -.
"queer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "quere" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "queer" for "quere" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "queer" or "quere" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "queer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #820,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "queer" and "quere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "queer vs queue". 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 #820,523 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.