Which to use
“separate” and “separates” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,388
- “separate” frequency rank
- #49,250
- “separates” frequency rank
- 68638
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | separate | separates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs separat | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs separat |
Where the eye mixes separate and separates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: separate vs separates
A purely visual mix-up. separate ([zepaˈʁaːtə]) and separates ([zepaˈʁaːtəs]) 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) - “separate” sits inside “separates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
separate is recorded at frequency rank #19,388, classified as anadj, pronounced [zepaˈʁaːtə]. separates is at rank #49,250, tagged as anadj, pronounced [zepaˈʁaːtəs].
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 68638, this pair ranks #501,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of separate vs separates
Shared letters: aeprst. Private to "separate": -. Private to "separates": -.
"separate" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "separates" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "separate" for "separates" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "separate" or "separates" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "separate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "separates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #501,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "separate" and "separates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "separaten vs separates". 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 #501,566 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.