entdecktevsentdecktenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,177
“entdeckte” frequency rank
#11,858
“entdeckten” frequency rank
18035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entdeckte entdeckten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entdeckt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entdeckt

Where the eye mixes entdeckte and entdeckten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
entdeckte
10 ch
entdeckten

Visual trap between entdeckte and entdeckten

A purely visual mix-up. entdeckte ([ɛntˈdɛktə]) and entdeckten ([ɛntˈdɛktn̩]) 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) - “entdeckte” sits inside “entdeckten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entdeckte is recorded at frequency rank #6,177, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈdɛktə]. entdeckten is at rank #11,858, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈdɛktn̩].

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 18035, this pair ranks #1,922,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entdeckte vs entdeckten

Shared letters: cdeknt. Private to "entdeckte": -. Private to "entdeckten": -.

"entdeckte" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCCV  ·  "entdeckten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entdeckteendteckte · enntdeckte · entdcekte · entddeckte · entdecckte · entdecket · entdeckkte · entdecktte
  • entdecktenendteckten · enntdeckten · entdcekten · entddeckten · entdecckten · entdecketn · entdeckkten · entdecktenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entdeckte" and "entdeckten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈdɛktə] versus [ɛntˈdɛktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entdeckte" or "entdeckten"?
"entdeckte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,177 in our German list, against #11,858 for "entdeckten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "entdeckte" and "entdeckten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entdeckte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entdeckten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,922,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entdeckte" and "entdeckten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Entdecker vs entdeckten". 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 #1,922,035 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