bildenvsbildeteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,625
“bilden” frequency rank
#5,809
“bildete” frequency rank
7434
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bilden bildete
Definition etwas zustande kommen, entstehen lassen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bilden

Where the eye mixes bilden and bildete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bilden runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against bildete's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
bilden
7 ch
bildete

Visual trap between bilden and bildete

A purely visual mix-up. bilden ([ˈbɪldn̩]) and bildete ([ˈbɪldətə]) 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 7434, 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]. bildete is at rank #5,809, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪldətə].

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 7434, this pair ranks #1,988,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bilden vs bildete

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

"bilden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "bildete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bilden ← bbilden · bidlen · bildden · bildenn · bildne · biledn · billden · bliden
  • bildete ← bbildete · bidlete · bilddete · bildeet · bildette · bildtee · biledte · billdete

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bilden" and "bildete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪldn̩] versus [ˈbɪldətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bilden" vs "bildete" - which ranks higher?
"bilden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,625 in our German list, against #5,809 for "bildete". 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 "bilden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bildete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,988,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bilden" and "bildete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ballen vs bilden". 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 #1,988,167 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