Which to use
“agieren” and “agierten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,019
- “agieren” frequency rank
- #46,451
- “agierten” frequency rank
- 54470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | agieren | agierten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas betreiben, tun | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs agieren |
Where the eye mixes agieren and agierten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. agieren runs 7 letters (VCVVCVC) against agierten's 8 (VCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses agieren with agierten
A purely visual mix-up. agieren ([aˈɡiːʁən]) and agierten ([aˈɡiːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54470, 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]. agierten is at rank #46,451, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈɡiːɐ̯tn̩].
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 54470, this pair ranks #1,017,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of agieren vs agierten
Shared letters: aeginr. Private to "agieren": -. Private to "agierten": t.
"agieren" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC · "agierten" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "agieren" and "agierten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "agieren" or "agierten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "agieren" and "agierten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "agieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "agierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,017,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "agieren" and "agierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "agierten vs änderten". 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 #1,017,635 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.