bereitenvsbreitetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,865
“bereiten” frequency rank
#17,243
“breitet” frequency rank
22108
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bereiten breitet
Definition etwas zur späteren Verwendung anrichten, herrichten 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs breiten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bereiten and breitet apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
bereiten
7 ch
breitet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bereiten ([bəˈʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and breitet ([ˈbʁaɪ̯tət]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bereiten is recorded at frequency rank #4,865, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁaɪ̯tn̩]. breitet is at rank #17,243, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯tət].

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 22108, this pair ranks #1,878,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bereiten vs breitet

Shared letters: beirt. Private to "bereiten": n. Private to "breitet": -.

"bereiten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "breitet" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bereitenbbereiten · beeriten · bereietn · bereitenn · bereitne · bereitten · beretien · berieten
  • breitetbbreitet · beritet · breiett · breitett · breittet · bretiet · brietet · brreitet

Frequency comparison

bereiten#4,865
breitet#17,243

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bereiten" and "breitet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˈbʁaɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bereiten" or "breitet"?
"bereiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,865 in our German list, against #17,243 for "breitet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bereiten vs breitet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bereiten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list