DefektevsDefektenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#17,554
“Defekte” frequency rank
#24,674
“Defekten” frequency rank
42228
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Defekte Defekten
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Defekt Dativ Plural des Substantivs Defekt

Where the eye mixes Defekte and Defekten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Defekte runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against Defekten's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Defekte
8 ch
Defekten

Look-alike desk: Defekte vs Defekten

A purely visual mix-up. Defekte ([deˈfɛktə]) and Defekten ([deˈfɛktn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Defekte” sits inside “Defekten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42228, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Defekte is recorded at frequency rank #17,554, classified as anoun, pronounced [deˈfɛktə]. Defekten is at rank #24,674, tagged as anoun, pronounced [deˈfɛktn̩].

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 42228, this pair ranks #1,455,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Defekte vs Defekten

Shared letters: defkt. Private to "Defekte": -. Private to "Defekten": n.

"Defekte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "Defekten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Defekte ← ddefekte · deefkte · defeket · defekkte · defektte · defetke · deffekte · defkete
  • Defekten ← ddefekten · deefkten · defeketn · defekkten · defektenn · defektne · defektten · defetken

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Defekte" and "Defekten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([deˈfɛktə] versus [deˈfɛktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Defekte" or "Defekten"?
"Defekte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,554 in our German list, against #24,674 for "Defekten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Defekte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Defekten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,455,785 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Defekte" and "Defekten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deckten vs Defekten". 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 #1,455,785 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