decktenvsdeutenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,305
“deckten” frequency rank
#8,190
“deuten” frequency rank
55495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deckten deuten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs decken auf ein Objekt weisen; hinweisen, zeigen

Where the eye mixes deckten and deuten

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

7 ch
deckten
6 ch
deuten

Why the eye confuses deckten with deuten

A purely visual mix-up. deckten ([ˈdɛktn̩]) and deuten ([ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) 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 55495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deckten is recorded at frequency rank #47,305, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛktn̩]. deuten is at rank #8,190, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩].

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 55495, this pair ranks #977,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deckten vs deuten

Shared letters: dent. Private to "deckten": ck. Private to "deuten": u.

"deckten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "deuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decktendcekten · ddeckten · decckten · decketn · deckkten · decktenn · decktne · decktten
  • deutenddeuten · detuen · deuetn · deutenn · deutne · deutten · dueten · eduten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "deckten" and "deuten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛktn̩] versus [ˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "deckten" vs "deuten" - which ranks higher?
"deuten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,190 in our German list, against #47,305 for "deckten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deckten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "deuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #977,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deckten" and "deuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deckten vs dicksten". 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 #977,343 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