bedeutetvsbedeuteteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#695
“bedeutet” frequency rank
#7,151
“bedeutete” frequency rank
7846
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedeutet bedeutete
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedeuten 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bedeuten

Where the eye mixes bedeutet and bedeutete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bedeutet runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against bedeutete's 9 (CVCVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bedeutet
9 ch
bedeutete

Look-alike desk: bedeutet vs bedeutete

A purely visual mix-up. bedeutet ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tət]) and bedeutete ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tətə]) 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) - “bedeutet” sits inside “bedeutete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bedeutet is recorded at frequency rank #695, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tət]. bedeutete is at rank #7,151, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tətə].

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 7846, this pair ranks #1,986,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bedeutet vs bedeutete

Shared letters: bdetu. Private to "bedeutet": -. Private to "bedeutete": -.

"bedeutet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "bedeutete" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedeutet ← bbedeutet · bdeeutet · beddeutet · bedetuet · bedeuett · bedeutett · bedeutte · bedeuttet
  • bedeutete ← bbedeutete · bdeeutete · beddeutete · bedetuete · bedeuette · bedeuteet · bedeutette · bedeuttee

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bedeutet" and "bedeutete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tət] versus [bəˈdɔɪ̯tətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bedeutet" vs "bedeutete" - which ranks higher?
"bedeutet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #695 in our German list, against #7,151 for "bedeutete". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bedeutet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bedeutete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,986,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bedeutet" and "bedeutete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedeutest vs bedeutete". 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 #1,986,659 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