Which to use
“arbeiten” is a verb and “arbeitende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #348
- “arbeiten” frequency rank
- #18,161
- “arbeitende” frequency rank
- 18509
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arbeiten | arbeitende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geistig oder körperlich tätig sein, zielstrebig handeln, um so ein Ergebnis zu erzielen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs arbeitend |
Where the eye mixes arbeiten and arbeitende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arbeiten runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against arbeitende's 10 (VCCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: arbeiten vs arbeitende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arbeiten is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩] while arbeitende is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “arbeiten” sits inside “arbeitende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18509, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arbeiten is recorded at frequency rank #348, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩]. arbeitende is at rank #18,161, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩də].
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 18509, this pair ranks #1,917,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arbeiten vs arbeitende
Shared letters: abeinrt. Private to "arbeiten": -. Private to "arbeitende": d.
"arbeiten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "arbeitende" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arbeiten ← abreiten · arbbeiten · arbeietn · arbeitenn · arbeitne · arbeitten · arbetien · arbieten
- arbeitende ← abreitende · arbbeitende · arbeietnde · arbeitedne · arbeitendde · arbeitened · arbeitennde · arbeitnede
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arbeiten" for "arbeitende" ever safe?
Frequency check: "arbeiten" vs "arbeitende" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeitende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,917,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arbeiten" and "arbeitende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arbeiten vs Arbeiters". 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 #1,917,516 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.