antwortenvsantwortetenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,313
“antworten” frequency rank
#39,788
“antworteten” frequency rank
41101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature antworten antworteten
Definition etwas auf eine Frage oder Aufgabe erwidern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs antworten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set antworten and antworteten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
antworten
11 ch
antworteten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. antworten ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩]) and antworteten ([ˈantˌvɔʁtətn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41101, 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]. antworteten is at rank #39,788, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈantˌvɔʁtətn̩].

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 41101, this pair ranks #1,489,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of antworten vs antworteten

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

"antworten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "antworteten" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • antwortenanntworten · antowrten · anttworten · antworetn · antworrten · antwortenn · antwortne · antwortten
  • antwortetenanntworteten · antowrteten · anttworteten · antworetten · antworrteten · antworteetn · antwortetenn · antwortetne

Frequency comparison

antworten#1,313
antworteten#39,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "antworten" and "antworteten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantˌvɔʁtn̩] versus [ˈantˌvɔʁtətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "antworten" or "antworteten"?
"antworten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,313 in our German list, against #39,788 for "antworteten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering antworten vs antworteten

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