Which to use
“entfernen” is a verb and “entfernte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,516
- “entfernen” frequency rank
- #9,362
- “entfernte” frequency rank
- 12878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entfernen | entfernte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hinwegnehmen oder herausnehmen; dafür sorgen, dass jemand oder etwas nicht da ist | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entfernt |
Where the eye mixes entfernen and entfernte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. entfernen (VCCCVCCVC) and entfernte (VCCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: entfernen vs entfernte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entfernen is [ɛntˈfɛʁnən] while entfernte is [ɛntˈfɛʁntə]. 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 12878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entfernen is recorded at frequency rank #3,516, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfɛʁnən]. entfernte is at rank #9,362, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈfɛʁntə].
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 12878, this pair ranks #1,961,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entfernen vs entfernte
Shared letters: efnrt. Private to "entfernen": -. Private to "entfernte": -.
"entfernen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "entfernte" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "entfernen" for "entfernte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "entfernen" or "entfernte" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "entfernen" and "entfernte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "entfernen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entfernte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entfernen" and "entfernte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfernte vs entfernter". 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 #1,961,464 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.