antwortenvsantwortetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,313
“antworten” frequency rank
#6,038
“antwortet” frequency rank
7351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature antworten antwortet
Definition etwas auf eine Frage oder Aufgabe erwidern 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs antworten

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
antworten
9 ch
antwortet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. antworten ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]) and antwortet ([ˈantˌvɔʁtət]) 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 a single letter - n in “antworten” becomes t in “antwortet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

antworten is recorded at frequency rank #1,313, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]. antwortet is at rank #6,038, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtət].

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 7351, this pair ranks #1,988,471 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of antworten vs antwortet

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

"antworten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "antwortet" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • antwortenanntworten · antowrten · anttworten · antworetn · antworrten · antwortenn · antwortne · antwortten
  • antwortetanntwortet · antowrtet · anttwortet · antworett · antworrtet · antwortett · antwortte · antworttet

Frequency comparison

antworten#1,313
antwortet#6,038

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "antworten" and "antwortet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩] versus [ˈantˌvɔʁtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "antworten" or "antwortet"?
"antworten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,313 in our German list, against #6,038 for "antwortet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering antworten vs antwortet

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 “antworten” 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