darstellevsdarstellteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,987
“darstelle” frequency rank
#17,851
“darstellte” frequency rank
49838
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature darstelle darstellte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs darstellen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs darstellen

Where the eye mixes darstelle and darstellte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. darstelle runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against darstellte's 10 (CVCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
darstelle
10 ch
darstellte

Visual trap between darstelle and darstellte

A purely visual mix-up. darstelle ([ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛlə]) and darstellte ([ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛltə]) 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 49838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

darstelle is recorded at frequency rank #31,987, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛlə]. darstellte is at rank #17,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛltə].

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 49838, this pair ranks #1,196,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of darstelle vs darstellte

Shared letters: adelrst. Private to "darstelle": -. Private to "darstellte": -.

"darstelle" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "darstellte" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • darstelle ← adrstelle · darrstelle · darsetlle · darsstelle · darstele · darstelel · darstlele · darsttelle
  • darstellte ← adrstellte · darrstellte · darsetllte · darsstellte · darstellet · darstelltte · darstelte · darsteltle

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "darstelle" and "darstellte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛlə] versus [ˈdaːɐ̯ˌʃtɛltə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "darstelle" or "darstellte"?
"darstellte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,851 in our German list, against #31,987 for "darstelle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "darstelle" and "darstellte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "darstelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "darstellte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,196,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "darstelle" and "darstellte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "darstelle vs Darstellern". 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 #1,196,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list