arbeitevsärgerteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,943
“arbeite” frequency rank
#34,475
“ärgerte” frequency rank
37418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arbeite ärgerte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs arbeiten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs ärgern

Where the eye mixes arbeite and ärgerte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
arbeite
7 ch
ärgerte

Visual trap between arbeite and ärgerte

A purely visual mix-up. arbeite ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə]) and ärgerte ([ˈɛʁɡɐtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37418, 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]. ärgerte is at rank #34,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛʁɡɐtə].

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 37418, this pair ranks #1,590,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of arbeite vs ärgerte

Shared letters: ert. Private to "arbeite": abi. Private to "ärgerte": .

"arbeite" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "ärgerte" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arbeiteabreite · arbbeite · arbeiet · arbetie · arbiete · arebite · arrbeite · rabeite

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "arbeite" for "ärgerte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tə] versus [ˈɛʁɡɐtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "arbeite" or "ärgerte"?
"arbeite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,943 in our German list, against #34,475 for "ärgerte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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 "ärgerte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,590,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arbeite" and "ärgerte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärgerte vs ärmere". 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 #1,590,799 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list