Which to use
“blicken” and “blickte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,068
- “blicken” frequency rank
- #11,615
- “blickte” frequency rank
- 16683
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blicken | blickte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seinen Blick auf jemanden/etwas wenden und es bewusst wahrnehmen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs blicken |
Where the eye mixes blicken and blickte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blicken with blickte
A purely visual mix-up. blicken ([ˈblɪkn̩]) and blickte ([ˈblɪktə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blicken is recorded at frequency rank #5,068, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪkn̩]. blickte is at rank #11,615, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪktə].
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 16683, this pair ranks #1,933,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blicken vs blickte
Shared letters: bceikl. Private to "blicken": n. Private to "blickte": t.
"blicken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "blickte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "blicken" for "blickte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "blicken" vs "blickte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "blicken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blickte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,933,826 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blicken" and "blickte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blickte vs blockt". 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 #1,933,826 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.