eiltenvsExotenConfusable pair

Quick tell: eilten is a verb, Exoten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eilten” is a verb and “Exoten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,547
“eilten” frequency rank
#48,868
“Exoten” frequency rank
93415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eilten Exoten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Exot

Where the eye mixes eilten and Exoten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. eilten (VVCCVC) and Exoten (VCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
eilten
6 ch
Exoten

Why the eye confuses eilten with Exoten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilten is [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩] while Exoten is [ɛˈksoːtn̩]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eilten is recorded at frequency rank #44,547, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]. Exoten is at rank #48,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛˈksoːtn̩].

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 93415, this pair ranks #22,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of eilten vs Exoten

Shared letters: ent. Private to "eilten": il. Private to "Exoten": ox.

"eilten" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC  ·  "Exoten" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eilten ← eiletn · eillten · eiltenn · eiltne · eiltten · eitlen · ielten
  • Exoten ← eoxten · exoetn · exotenn · exotne · exotten · extoen · exxoten · xeoten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eilten" and "Exoten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eilten" is a verb and "Exoten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "eilten" vs "Exoten" - which ranks higher?
"eilten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,547 in our German list, against #48,868 for "Exoten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eilten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Exoten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,976 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eilten" and "Exoten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilten vs Elben". 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 #22,976 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