Which to use
“blühen” and “blühte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,759
- “blühen” frequency rank
- #43,068
- “blühte” frequency rank
- 57827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blühen | blühte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Blüten aufweisen; eine oder mehrere Blüten aus sich herausgewachsen haben, in Blüte sein | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs blühen |
Where the eye mixes blühen and blühte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. blühen (CCVCVC) and blühte (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between blühen and blühte
A purely visual mix-up. blühen ([ˈblyːən]) and blühte ([ˈblyːtə]) 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 57827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blühen is recorded at frequency rank #14,759, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈblyːən]. blühte is at rank #43,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblyːtə].
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 57827, this pair ranks #886,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of blühen vs blühte
Shared letters: behlü. Private to "blühen": n. Private to "blühte": t.
"blühen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "blühte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "blühen" for "blühte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "blühen" or "blühte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "blühen" and "blühte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "blühen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blühte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #886,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blühen" and "blühte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beugte vs blühte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #886,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.