Which to use
“deute” and “deuten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,447
- “deute” frequency rank
- #8,190
- “deuten” frequency rank
- 45637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deute | deuten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs deuten | auf ein Objekt weisen; hinweisen, zeigen |
Where the eye mixes deute and deuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. deute runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against deuten's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses deute with deuten
A purely visual mix-up. deute ([ˈdɔɪ̯tə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “deute” sits inside “deuten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deute is recorded at frequency rank #37,447, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tə]. 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 45637, this pair ranks #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deute vs deuten
Shared letters: detu. Private to "deute": -. Private to "deuten": n.
"deute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "deuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deute" and "deuten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "deute" or "deuten"?
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 "deute" 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 #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deute" and "deuten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deute 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 #1,346,244 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.