billigtvsbilligteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,843
“billigt” frequency rank
#49,526
“billigte” frequency rank
89369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature billigt billigte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs billigen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs billigen

Where the eye mixes billigt and billigte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. billigt runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against billigte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
billigt
8 ch
billigte

Visual trap between billigt and billigte

A purely visual mix-up. billigt ([ˈbɪlɪçt]) and billigte ([ˈbɪlɪçtə]) 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) - “billigt” sits inside “billigte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

billigt is recorded at frequency rank #39,843, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪçt]. billigte is at rank #49,526, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪçtə].

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 89369, this pair ranks #58,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of billigt vs billigte

Shared letters: bgilt. Private to "billigt": -. Private to "billigte": e.

"billigt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "billigte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • billigt ← bbilligt · biligt · bililgt · billgit · billiggt · billigtt · billitg · bliligt
  • billigte ← bbilligte · biligte · bililgte · billgite · billiget · billiggte · billigtte · billitge

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "billigt" and "billigte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪlɪçt] versus [ˈbɪlɪçtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "billigt" or "billigte" show up more?
"billigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,843 in our German list, against #49,526 for "billigte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "billigt" and "billigte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "billigt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "billigte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "billigt" and "billigte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "billigem vs billigte". 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 #58,087 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