agierenvsagierteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,019
“agieren” frequency rank
#21,871
“agierte” frequency rank
29890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature agieren agierte
Definition etwas betreiben, tun 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs agieren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set agieren and agierte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
agieren
7 ch
agierte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. agieren ([aˈɡiːʁən]) and agierte ([aˈɡiːɐ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

agieren is recorded at frequency rank #8,019, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈɡiːʁən]. agierte is at rank #21,871, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈɡiːɐ̯tə].

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 29890, this pair ranks #1,758,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of agieren vs agierte

Shared letters: aegir. Private to "agieren": n. Private to "agierte": t.

"agieren" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC  ·  "agierte" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • agierenageiren · aggieren · agieern · agierenn · agierne · agierren · agireen · aigeren
  • agierteageirte · aggierte · agieret · agierrte · agiertte · agietre · agirete · aigerte

Frequency comparison

agieren#8,019
agierte#21,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "agieren" and "agierte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈɡiːʁən] versus [aˈɡiːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "agieren" or "agierte"?
"agieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,019 in our German list, against #21,871 for "agierte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering agieren vs agierte

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 “agieren” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list