decktevsDelikteTell them apart

Quick tell: deckte is a verb, Delikte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deckte” is a verb and “Delikte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,997
“deckte” frequency rank
#22,298
“Delikte” frequency rank
52295
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deckte Delikte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs decken Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Delikt

Where the eye mixes deckte and Delikte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
deckte
7 ch
Delikte

Why the eye confuses deckte with Delikte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deckte is [ˈdɛktə] while Delikte is [deˈlɪktə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deckte is recorded at frequency rank #29,997, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛktə]. Delikte is at rank #22,298, tagged as anoun, pronounced [deˈlɪktə].

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 52295, this pair ranks #1,102,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deckte vs Delikte

Shared letters: dekt. Private to "deckte": c. Private to "Delikte": il.

"deckte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Delikte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decktedcekte · ddeckte · decckte · decket · deckkte · decktte · dectke · dekcte
  • Delikteddelikte · deilkte · deliket · delikkte · deliktte · delitke · delkite · dellikte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "deckte" for "Delikte" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deckte" is a verb and "Delikte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deckte" or "Delikte"?
"Delikte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,298 in our German list, against #29,997 for "deckte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deckte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Delikte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,102,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deckte" and "Delikte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deckte vs devote". 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 #1,102,371 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