Which to use
“arbeitet” and “arbeiteten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,151
- “arbeitet” frequency rank
- #8,823
- “arbeiteten” frequency rank
- 9974
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arbeitet | arbeiteten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs arbeiten | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs arbeiten |
Where the eye mixes arbeitet and arbeiteten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arbeitet runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVC) against arbeiteten's 10 (VCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: arbeitet vs arbeiteten
A purely visual mix-up. arbeitet ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tət]) and arbeiteten ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯tətn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “arbeitet” sits inside “arbeiteten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arbeitet is recorded at frequency rank #1,151, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tət]. arbeiteten is at rank #8,823, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tətn̩].
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 9974, this pair ranks #1,977,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of arbeitet vs arbeiteten
Shared letters: abeirt. Private to "arbeitet": -. Private to "arbeiteten": n.
"arbeitet" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC · "arbeiteten" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- arbeitet ← abreitet · arbbeitet · arbeiett · arbeitett · arbeitte · arbeittet · arbetiet · arbietet
- arbeiteten ← abreiteten · arbbeiteten · arbeietten · arbeiteetn · arbeitetenn · arbeitetne · arbeitetten · arbeitteen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arbeitet" and "arbeiteten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "arbeitet" or "arbeiteten"?
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 "arbeitet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "arbeiteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arbeitet" and "arbeiteten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arbeiters vs arbeitet". 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 #1,977,392 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.