bildetvsbildeteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,961
“bildet” frequency rank
#5,809
“bildete” frequency rank
7770
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bildet bildete
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bilden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bilden

Where the eye mixes bildet and bildete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bildet 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
bildet
7 ch
bildete

Look-alike desk: bildet vs bildete

A purely visual mix-up. bildet ([ˈbɪldət]) 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 extra letter(s) - “bildet” sits inside “bildete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bildet is recorded at frequency rank #1,961, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪldət]. 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 7770, this pair ranks #1,986,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bildet vs bildete

Shared letters: bdeilt. Private to "bildet": -. Private to "bildete": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bildet ← bbildet · bidlet · bilddet · bildett · bildte · biledt · billdet · blidet
  • bildete ← bbildete · bidlete · bilddete · bildeet · bildette · bildtee · biledte · billdete

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bildet" for "bildete" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪldət] versus [ˈbɪldətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bildet" vs "bildete" - which ranks higher?
"bildet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,961 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bildet" 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 #1,986,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bildet" and "bildete" 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 #1,986,967 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