Which to use
“sekundär” and “sekundäre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,929
- “sekundär” frequency rank
- #29,782
- “sekundäre” frequency rank
- 57711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sekundär | sekundäre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an zweiter Stelle stehend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sekundär |
Where the eye mixes sekundär and sekundäre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. sekundär runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against sekundäre's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sekundär with sekundäre
A purely visual mix-up. sekundär ([ˌzekʊnˈdɛːɐ̯]) and sekundäre ([ˌzekʊnˈdɛːʁə]) 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) - “sekundär” sits inside “sekundäre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sekundär is recorded at frequency rank #27,929, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌzekʊnˈdɛːɐ̯]. sekundäre is at rank #29,782, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌzekʊnˈdɛːʁə].
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 57711, this pair ranks #890,657 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sekundär vs sekundäre
Shared letters: deknrsuä. Private to "sekundär": -. Private to "sekundäre": -.
"sekundär" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "sekundäre" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sekundär" for "sekundäre" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sekundär" or "sekundäre"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sekundär" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sekundäre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #890,657 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sekundär" and "sekundäre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sekundäre vs sekundären". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #890,657 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.