antwortenvsantworteteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,313
“antworten” frequency rank
#7,570
“antwortete” frequency rank
8883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
antworten
10 ch
antwortete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. antworten ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8883, 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]. 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 8883, this pair ranks #1,982,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of antworten vs antwortete

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

"antworten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "antwortete" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • antwortenanntworten · antowrten · anttworten · antworetn · antworrten · antwortenn · antwortne · antwortten
  • antworteteanntwortete · antowrtete · anttwortete · antworette · antworrtete · antworteet · antwortette · antworttee

Frequency comparison

antworten#1,313
antwortete#7,570

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "antworten" and "antwortete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩] versus [ˈantˌvɔʁtətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "antworten" or "antwortete"?
"antworten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,313 in our German list, against #7,570 for "antwortete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering antworten 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 “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