entfernenvsentferntenTell them apart

Quick tell: entfernen is a verb, entfernten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#3,516
“entfernen” frequency rank
#8,551
“entfernten” frequency rank
12067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entfernen entfernten
Definition hinwegnehmen oder herausnehmen; dafür sorgen, dass jemand oder etwas nicht da ist Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entfernt

Where the eye mixes entfernen and entfernten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. entfernen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against entfernten's 10 (VCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
entfernen
10 ch
entfernten

Look-alike desk: entfernen vs entfernten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entfernen is [ɛntˈfɛʁnən] while entfernten is [ɛntˈfɛʁntn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12067, 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]. entfernten is at rank #8,551, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈfɛʁntn̩].

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 12067, this pair ranks #1,966,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entfernen vs entfernten

Shared letters: efnrt. Private to "entfernen": -. Private to "entfernten": -.

"entfernen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entfernten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entfernen ← enfternen · enntfernen · entefrnen · entfenren · entferenn · entfernenn · entfernne · entfernnen
  • entfernten ← enfternten · enntfernten · entefrnten · entfenrten · entfernetn · entfernnten · entferntenn · entferntne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entfernen" for "entfernten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entfernen" is a verb and "entfernten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "entfernen" or "entfernten"?
"entfernen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,516 in our German list, against #8,551 for "entfernten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entfernen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entfernten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,966,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entfernen" and "entfernten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfernten 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 #1,966,369 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