breiterenvsbreiteteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,556
“breiteren” frequency rank
#30,970
“breitete” frequency rank
52526
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature breiteren breitete
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs breit 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs breiten

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
breiteren
8 ch
breitete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: breiteren is [ˈbʁaɪ̯təʁən] while breitete is [ˈbʁaɪ̯tətə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52526, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

breiteren is recorded at frequency rank #21,556, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯təʁən]. 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 52526, this pair ranks #1,093,353 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of breiteren vs breitete

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

"breiteren" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC  ·  "breitete" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • breiterenbbreiteren · beriteren · breietren · breiteern · breiterenn · breiterne · breiterren · breitreen
  • breitetebbreitete · beritete · breiette · breiteet · breitette · breittee · breittete · bretiete

Frequency comparison

breiteren#21,556
breitete#30,970

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "breiteren" and "breitete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "breiteren" is an adjective and "breitete" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "breiteren" or "breitete"?
"breiteren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,556 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 breiteren vs breitete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “breiteren”; for a verb, it's “breitete”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “breiteren” 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