bildenvsbildetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,625
“bilden” frequency rank
#1,961
“bildet” frequency rank
3586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bilden bildet
Definition etwas zustande kommen, entstehen lassen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bilden

Where the eye mixes bilden and bildet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
bilden
6 ch
bildet

Visual trap between bilden and bildet

A purely visual mix-up. bilden ([ˈbɪldn̩]) and bildet ([ˈbɪldət]) 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 a single letter - n in “bilden” becomes t in “bildet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bilden is recorded at frequency rank #1,625, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪldn̩]. bildet is at rank #1,961, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪldət].

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 3586, this pair ranks #1,999,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bilden vs bildet

Shared letters: bdeil. Private to "bilden": n. Private to "bildet": t.

"bilden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "bildet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bildenbbilden · bidlen · bildden · bildenn · bildne · biledn · billden · bliden
  • bildetbbildet · bidlet · bilddet · bildett · bildte · biledt · billdet · blidet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bilden" and "bildet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪldn̩] versus [ˈbɪldət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bilden" vs "bildet" - which ranks higher?
"bilden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,625 in our German list, against #1,961 for "bildet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "bilden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bildet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bilden" and "bildet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ballet vs bildet". 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 #1,999,866 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