Which to use
“eilte” and “eilten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,258
- “eilte” frequency rank
- #44,547
- “eilten” frequency rank
- 71805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilte | eilten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen |
Where the eye mixes eilte and eilten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eilte with eilten
A purely visual mix-up. eilte ([ˈaɪ̯ltə]) and eilten ([ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]) 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) - “eilte” sits inside “eilten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilte is recorded at frequency rank #27,258, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltə]. eilten is at rank #44,547, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩].
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 71805, this pair ranks #406,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of eilte vs eilten
Shared letters: eilt. Private to "eilte": -. Private to "eilten": n.
"eilte" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV · "eilten" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eilte" and "eilten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "eilte" vs "eilten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eilten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilte" and "eilten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilten vs Exoten". 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 #406,321 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.