arbeitevsarbeitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,943
“arbeite” frequency rank
#348
“arbeiten” frequency rank
3291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arbeite arbeiten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs arbeiten geistig oder körperlich tätig sein, zielstrebig handeln, um so ein Ergebnis zu erzielen

Where the eye mixes arbeite and arbeiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
arbeite
8 ch
arbeiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. arbeite ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə]) and arbeiten ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) 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) - “arbeite” sits inside “arbeiten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arbeite is recorded at frequency rank #2,943, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə]. arbeiten is at rank #348, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩].

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 3291, this pair ranks #2,000,520 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of arbeite vs arbeiten

Shared letters: abeirt. Private to "arbeite": -. Private to "arbeiten": n.

"arbeite" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "arbeiten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arbeiteabreite · arbbeite · arbeiet · arbetie · arbiete · arebite · arrbeite · rabeite
  • arbeitenabreiten · arbbeiten · arbeietn · arbeitenn · arbeitne · arbeitten · arbetien · arbieten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "arbeite" and "arbeiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə] versus [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "arbeite" or "arbeiten"?
"arbeiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #348 in our German list, against #2,943 for "arbeite". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list