Which to use
“arbeite” is a verb and “arbeitete” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,943
- “arbeite” frequency rank
- #3,424
- “arbeitete” frequency rank
- 6367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arbeite | arbeitete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs arbeiten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv von arbeiten |
Where the eye mixes arbeite and arbeitete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between arbeite and arbeitete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arbeite is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə] while arbeitete is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tətə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “arbeite” sits inside “arbeitete”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6367, 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]. arbeitete is at rank #3,424, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tətə].
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 6367, this pair ranks #1,991,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arbeite vs arbeitete
Shared letters: abeirt. Private to "arbeite": -. Private to "arbeitete": -.
"arbeite" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "arbeitete" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arbeite" for "arbeitete" ever safe?
Frequency check: "arbeite" vs "arbeitete" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeitete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,893 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arbeite" and "arbeitete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arbeiters vs arbeitete". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,991,893 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.