deutevsdeutetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#37,447
“deute” frequency rank
#6,908
“deutet” frequency rank
44355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deute deutet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs deuten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs deuten

Where the eye mixes deute and deutet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. deute runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against deutet's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
deute
6 ch
deutet

Look-alike desk: deute vs deutet

A purely visual mix-up. deute ([ˈdɔɪ̯tə]) and deutet ([ˈdɔɪ̯tət]) 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 “deutet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44355, 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]. deutet is at rank #6,908, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tət].

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 44355, this pair ranks #1,388,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deute vs deutet

Shared letters: detu. Private to "deute": -. Private to "deutet": -.

"deute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "deutet" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deute ← ddeute · detue · deuet · duete · edute
  • deutet ← ddeutet · detuet · deuett · deutett · deutte · deuttet · duetet · edutet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "deute" for "deutet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɔɪ̯tə] versus [ˈdɔɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deute" or "deutet"?
"deutet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,908 in our German list, against #37,447 for "deute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "deutet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,388,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deute" and "deutet" 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 #1,388,889 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