sekundärvssekundäreWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sekundär and sekundäre apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
sekundär
9 ch
sekundäre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

sekundär#27,929
sekundäre#29,782

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sekundär" and "sekundäre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌzekʊnˈdɛːɐ̯] versus [ˌzekʊnˈdɛːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sekundär" or "sekundäre"?
"sekundär" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,929 in our German list, against #29,782 for "sekundäre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sekundär vs sekundäre

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 “sekundär” 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