altbekanntevsaltbekanntenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,457
“altbekannte” frequency rank
#48,690
“altbekannten” frequency rank
95147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature altbekannte altbekannten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs altbekannt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs altbekannt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set altbekannte and altbekannten apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
altbekannte
12 ch
altbekannten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. altbekannte ([altbəˈkantə]) and altbekannten ([altbəˈkantn̩]) 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) - “altbekannte” sits inside “altbekannten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

altbekannte is recorded at frequency rank #46,457, classified as anadj, pronounced [altbəˈkantə]. altbekannten is at rank #48,690, tagged as anadj, pronounced [altbəˈkantn̩].

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 95147, this pair ranks #13,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of altbekannte vs altbekannten

Shared letters: abeklnt. Private to "altbekannte": -. Private to "altbekannten": -.

"altbekannte" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCCV  ·  "altbekannten" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • altbekanntealbtekannte · alltbekannte · altbbekannte · altbeaknnte · altbekannet · altbekanntte · altbekante · altbekantne
  • altbekanntenalbtekannten · alltbekannten · altbbekannten · altbeaknnten · altbekannetn · altbekanntenn · altbekanntne · altbekanntten

Frequency comparison

altbekannte#46,457
altbekannten#48,690

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "altbekannte" and "altbekannten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([altbəˈkantə] versus [altbəˈkantn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "altbekannte" or "altbekannten"?
"altbekannte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,457 in our German list, against #48,690 for "altbekannten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering altbekannte vs altbekannten

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 “altbekannte” 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