definiertvsdefiniertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,571
“definiert” frequency rank
#15,599
“definierten” frequency rank
19170
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature definiert definierten
Definition vorher bestimmt, festgelegt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs definiert

Where the eye mixes definiert and definierten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. definiert runs 9 letters (CVCVCVVCC) against definierten's 11 (CVCVCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
definiert
11 ch
definierten

Why the eye confuses definiert with definierten

A purely visual mix-up. definiert ([defiˈniːɐ̯t]) and definierten ([defiˈniːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “definiert” sits inside “definierten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

definiert is recorded at frequency rank #3,571, classified as anadj, pronounced [defiˈniːɐ̯t]. definierten is at rank #15,599, tagged as anadj, pronounced [defiˈniːɐ̯tn̩].

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 19170, this pair ranks #1,911,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of definiert vs definierten

Shared letters: definrt. Private to "definiert": -. Private to "definierten": -.

"definiert" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC  ·  "definierten" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • definiertddefiniert · deffiniert · defiinert · defineirt · definierrt · definiertt · definietr · definiret
  • definiertenddefinierten · deffinierten · defiinerten · defineirten · definieretn · definierrten · definiertenn · definiertne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "definiert" for "definierten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([defiˈniːɐ̯t] versus [defiˈniːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "definiert" or "definierten"?
"definiert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,571 in our German list, against #15,599 for "definierten". 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 "definiert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "definierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,911,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "definiert" and "definierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "definiert vs dezimiert". 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 #1,911,131 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