ArbeitszeitvsArbeitszeitenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,572
“Arbeitszeit” frequency rank
#15,554
“Arbeitszeiten” frequency rank
23126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Arbeitszeit Arbeitszeiten
Definition festgelegter Zeitraum, in der eine Arbeitskraft Arbeit verrichtet Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Arbeitszeit

Where the eye mixes Arbeitszeit and Arbeitszeiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Arbeitszeit runs 11 letters (VCCVVCCCVVC) against Arbeitszeiten's 13 (VCCVVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Arbeitszeit
13 ch
Arbeitszeiten

Why the eye confuses Arbeitszeit with Arbeitszeiten

A purely visual mix-up. Arbeitszeit ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯t]) and Arbeitszeiten ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯tn̩]) 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) - “Arbeitszeit” sits inside “Arbeitszeiten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Arbeitszeit is recorded at frequency rank #7,572, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯t]. Arbeitszeiten is at rank #15,554, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯tn̩].

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 23126, this pair ranks #1,865,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Arbeitszeit vs Arbeitszeiten

Shared letters: abeirstz. Private to "Arbeitszeit": -. Private to "Arbeitszeiten": n.

"Arbeitszeit" · 11 letters · shape VCCVVCCCVVC  ·  "Arbeitszeiten" · 13 letters · shape VCCVVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Arbeitszeit ← abreitszeit · arbbeitszeit · arbeistzeit · arbeitsezit · arbeitsszeit · arbeitszeitt · arbeitszeti · arbeitsziet
  • Arbeitszeiten ← abreitszeiten · arbbeitszeiten · arbeistzeiten · arbeitseziten · arbeitsszeiten · arbeitszeietn · arbeitszeitenn · arbeitszeitne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Arbeitszeit" and "Arbeitszeiten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯t] versus [ˈaʁbaɪ̯t͡sˌt͡saɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Arbeitszeit" vs "Arbeitszeiten" - which ranks higher?
"Arbeitszeit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,572 in our German list, against #15,554 for "Arbeitszeiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Arbeitszeit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Arbeitszeiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,865,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Arbeitszeit" and "Arbeitszeiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Arbeitswelt vs Arbeitszeit". 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 #1,865,465 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