antwortevsantwortenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,674
“antworte” frequency rank
#1,313
“antworten” frequency rank
10987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature antworte antworten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs antworten etwas auf eine Frage oder Aufgabe erwidern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set antworte and antworten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
antworte
9 ch
antworten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. antworte ([ˈantˌvɔʁtə]) and antworten ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]) 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) - “antworte” sits inside “antworten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

antworte is recorded at frequency rank #9,674, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtə]. antworten is at rank #1,313, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩].

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 10987, this pair ranks #1,972,274 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of antworte vs antworten

Shared letters: aenortw. Private to "antworte": -. Private to "antworten": -.

"antworte" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "antworten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • antworteanntworte · antowrte · anttworte · antworet · antworrte · antwotre · antwrote · antwworte
  • antwortenanntworten · antowrten · anttworten · antworetn · antworrten · antwortenn · antwortne · antwortten

Frequency comparison

antworte#9,674
antworten#1,313

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "antworte" and "antworten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantˌvɔʁtə] versus [ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "antworte" or "antworten"?
"antworten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,313 in our German list, against #9,674 for "antworte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering antworte vs antworten

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 “antworte” 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