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 eye mixes breiten and breiteren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. breiten runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against breiteren's 9 (CCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between breiten and breiteren
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "breiten" for "breiteren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "breiten" or "breiteren" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "breiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "breiteren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,839,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "breiten" and "breiteren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "breiteren vs breitete". 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 #1,839,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.