dokumentierenvsdokumentierteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dokumentieren is a verb, dokumentierte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dokumentieren” is a verb and “dokumentierte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,411
“dokumentieren” frequency rank
#31,001
“dokumentierte” frequency rank
42412
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dokumentieren dokumentierte
Definition in einem Dokument festhalten; mit einem Dokument belegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs dokumentiert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dokumentieren and dokumentierte apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
dokumentieren
13 ch
dokumentierte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dokumentieren is [dokumɛnˈtiːʁən] while dokumentierte is [dokumɛnˈtiːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42412, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dokumentieren is recorded at frequency rank #11,411, classified as averb, pronounced [dokumɛnˈtiːʁən]. dokumentierte is at rank #31,001, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dokumɛnˈtiːɐ̯tə].

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 42412, this pair ranks #1,450,108 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dokumentieren vs dokumentierte

Shared letters: deikmnortu. Private to "dokumentieren": -. Private to "dokumentierte": -.

"dokumentieren" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVVCVC  ·  "dokumentierte" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dokumentierenddokumentieren · dkoumentieren · dokkumentieren · dokmuentieren · dokuemntieren · dokumeniteren · dokumenntieren · dokumenteiren
  • dokumentierteddokumentierte · dkoumentierte · dokkumentierte · dokmuentierte · dokuemntierte · dokumeniterte · dokumenntierte · dokumenteirte

Frequency comparison

dokumentieren#11,411
dokumentierte#31,001

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dokumentieren" and "dokumentierte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dokumentieren" is a verb and "dokumentierte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dokumentieren" or "dokumentierte"?
"dokumentieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,411 in our German list, against #31,001 for "dokumentierte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dokumentieren vs dokumentierte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “dokumentieren”; for an adjective, it's “dokumentierte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dokumentieren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list