Which to use
“Teer” is a noun and “ter” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,240
- “Teer” frequency rank
- #12,183
- “ter” frequency rank
- 49423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Teer | ter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | braunschwarze, dicke, fette, klumpige, ölig-klebrige Flüssigkeit von scharfem Geruch, die durch trockenes Erhitzen organischer Stoffe (zum Beispiel Kohle) unter Luftabschluss entsteht | haben, besitzen |
Where the eye mixes Teer and ter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Teer vs ter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Teer is [teːɐ̯] while ter is [ˈte(ʁ)]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Teer is recorded at frequency rank #37,240, classified as anoun, pronounced [teːɐ̯]. ter is at rank #12,183, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈte(ʁ)].
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 49423, this pair ranks #1,212,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Teer vs ter
Shared letters: ert. Private to "Teer": -. Private to "ter": -.
"Teer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "ter" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Teer ← eter · teerr · tteer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Teer" for "ter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Teer" vs "ter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Teer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,212,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Teer" and "ter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Teer vs trees". 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 #1,212,089 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.