vorletztevsvorletzterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vorletzte” and “vorletzter” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,365
“vorletzte” frequency rank
#45,027
“vorletzter” frequency rank
68392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorletzte vorletzter
Definition in einer Reihe oder Folge sich auf dem Platz befindend, für den es genau nur noch einen Nachfolger gibt; dem letzten vorangehend Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorletzte

Where the eye mixes vorletzte and vorletzter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. vorletzte runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCCV) against vorletzter's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
vorletzte
10 ch
vorletzter

Look-alike desk: vorletzte vs vorletzter

A purely visual mix-up. vorletzte ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stə]) and vorletzter ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stɐ]) 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) - “vorletzte” sits inside “vorletzter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorletzte is recorded at frequency rank #23,365, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stə]. vorletzter is at rank #45,027, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stɐ].

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 68392, this pair ranks #509,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vorletzte vs vorletzter

Shared letters: elortvz. Private to "vorletzte": -. Private to "vorletzter": -.

"vorletzte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "vorletzter" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorletzte ← ovrletzte · volretzte · voreltzte · vorlettze · vorlettzte · vorletzet · vorletztte · vorletzzte
  • vorletzter ← ovrletzter · volretzter · voreltzter · vorlettzer · vorlettzter · vorletzetr · vorletzterr · vorletztre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorletzte" and "vorletzter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɛt͡stɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorletzte" or "vorletzter"?
"vorletzte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,365 in our German list, against #45,027 for "vorletzter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "vorletzte" and "vorletzter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorletzte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorletzter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #509,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorletzte" and "vorletzter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verletzter vs vorletzter". 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 #509,270 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list