antwortevsantworteteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,674
“antworte” frequency rank
#7,570
“antwortete” frequency rank
17244
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature antworte antwortete
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs antworten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs antworten

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
antworte
10 ch
antwortete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. antworte ([ˈantˌvɔʁtə]) and antwortete ([ˈantˌvɔʁtətə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “antworte” sits inside “antwortete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17244, 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]. antwortete is at rank #7,570, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtətə].

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 17244, this pair ranks #1,929,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of antworte vs antwortete

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

"antworte" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "antwortete" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • antworteanntworte · antowrte · anttworte · antworet · antworrte · antwotre · antwrote · antwworte
  • antworteteanntwortete · antowrtete · anttwortete · antworette · antworrtete · antworteet · antwortette · antworttee

Frequency comparison

antworte#9,674
antwortete#7,570

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "antworte" and "antwortete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantˌvɔʁtə] versus [ˈantˌvɔʁtətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "antworte" or "antwortete"?
"antwortete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,570 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 antwortete

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