breitenvsbreiteteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,429
“breiten” frequency rank
#30,970
“breitete” frequency rank
34399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature breiten breitete
Definition etwas Zusammengelegtes, das wenig Platz einnimmt, auseinandernehmen und mehr Platz einnehmen lassen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs breiten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set breiten and breitete apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
breiten
8 ch
breitete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. breiten ([ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and breitete ([ˈbʁaɪ̯tətə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34399, 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]. breitete is at rank #30,970, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯tətə].

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 34399, this pair ranks #1,664,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of breiten vs breitete

Shared letters: beirt. Private to "breiten": n. Private to "breitete": -.

"breiten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "breitete" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • breitenbbreiten · beriten · breietn · breitenn · breitne · breitten · bretien · brieten
  • breitetebbreitete · beritete · breiette · breiteet · breitette · breittee · breittete · bretiete

Frequency comparison

breiten#3,429
breitete#30,970

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "breiten" and "breitete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˈbʁaɪ̯tətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "breiten" or "breitete"?
"breiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,429 in our German list, against #30,970 for "breitete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering breiten vs breitete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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