duftevsduftetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dufte is a adjective, duftet is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#42,433
“dufte” frequency rank
#25,967
“duftet” frequency rank
68400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dufte duftet
Definition sehr gut 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs duften

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dufte and duftet apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dufte
6 ch
duftet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dufte is [ˈdʊftə] while duftet is [ˈdʊftət]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dufte” sits inside “duftet”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dufte is recorded at frequency rank #42,433, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊftə]. duftet is at rank #25,967, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdʊftət].

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 68400, this pair ranks #508,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dufte vs duftet

Shared letters: deftu. Private to "dufte": -. Private to "duftet": -.

"dufte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "duftet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dufteddufte · dfute · dufet · duffte · dutfe · udfte
  • duftetdduftet · dfutet · dufett · dufftet · duftett · duftte · dufttet · dutfet

Frequency comparison

dufte#42,433
duftet#25,967

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dufte" and "duftet" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dufte" is an adjective and "duftet" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dufte" or "duftet"?
"duftet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,967 in our German list, against #42,433 for "dufte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dufte vs duftet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dufte”; for a verb, it's “duftet”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dufte” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list