breitenvsbreiterenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: breiten is a verb, breiteren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“breiten” is a verb and “breiteren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,429
“breiten” frequency rank
#21,556
“breiteren” frequency rank
24985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature breiten breiteren
Definition etwas Zusammengelegtes, das wenig Platz einnimmt, auseinandernehmen und mehr Platz einnehmen lassen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs breit

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set breiten and breiteren apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
breiten
9 ch
breiteren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: breiten is [ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩] while breiteren is [ˈbʁaɪ̯təʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

breiten is recorded at frequency rank #3,429, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]. breiteren is at rank #21,556, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯təʁən].

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 24985, this pair ranks #1,839,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of breiten vs breiteren

Shared letters: beinrt. Private to "breiten": -. Private to "breiteren": -.

"breiten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "breiteren" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • breitenbbreiten · beriten · breietn · breitenn · breitne · breitten · bretien · brieten
  • breiterenbbreiteren · beriteren · breietren · breiteern · breiterenn · breiterne · breiterren · breitreen

Frequency comparison

breiten#3,429
breiteren#21,556

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "breiten" and "breiteren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "breiten" is a verb and "breiteren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "breiten" or "breiteren"?
"breiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,429 in our German list, against #21,556 for "breiteren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering breiten vs breiteren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “breiten”; for an adjective, it's “breiteren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “breiten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list