Which to use
“arbeitende” is an adjective and “arbeitete” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,161
- “arbeitende” frequency rank
- #3,424
- “arbeitete” frequency rank
- 21585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arbeitende | arbeitete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs arbeitend | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv von arbeiten |
Where the eye mixes arbeitende and arbeitete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arbeitende runs 10 letters (VCCVVCVCCV) against arbeitete's 9 (VCCVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: arbeitende vs arbeitete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: arbeitende is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩də] while arbeitete is [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tətə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arbeitende is recorded at frequency rank #18,161, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tn̩də]. 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 21585, this pair ranks #1,884,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arbeitende vs arbeitete
Shared letters: abeirt. Private to "arbeitende": dn. Private to "arbeitete": -.
"arbeitende" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV · "arbeitete" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arbeitende ← abreitende · arbbeitende · arbeietnde · arbeitedne · arbeitendde · arbeitened · arbeitennde · arbeitnede
- arbeitete ← abreitete · arbbeitete · arbeiette · arbeiteet · arbeitette · arbeittee · arbeittete · arbetiete
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "arbeitende" and "arbeitete" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "arbeitende" or "arbeitete"?
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 "arbeitende" 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 #1,884,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arbeitende" 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 #1,884,505 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.