bastelvsbasteltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#37,982
“bastel” frequency rank
#31,947
“bastelt” frequency rank
69929
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bastel bastelt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs basteln 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs basteln

Where the eye mixes bastel and bastelt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bastel runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against bastelt's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
bastel
7 ch
bastelt

Look-alike desk: bastel vs bastelt

A purely visual mix-up. bastel ([ˈbastl̩]) and bastelt ([ˈbastl̩t]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “bastel” sits inside “bastelt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bastel is recorded at frequency rank #37,982, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbastl̩]. bastelt is at rank #31,947, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbastl̩t].

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 69929, this pair ranks #461,680 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bastel vs bastelt

Shared letters: abelst. Private to "bastel": -. Private to "bastelt": -.

"bastel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "bastelt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bastel ← abstel · basetl · basstel · bastell · bastle · basttel · batsel · bbastel
  • bastelt ← abstelt · basetlt · basstelt · bastellt · basteltt · bastetl · bastlet · basttelt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bastel" and "bastelt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbastl̩] versus [ˈbastl̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bastel" or "bastelt"?
"bastelt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,947 in our German list, against #37,982 for "bastel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bastel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bastelt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #461,680 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bastel" and "bastelt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bastei vs bastel". 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 #461,680 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