entferntevsentferntenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,362
“entfernte” frequency rank
#8,551
“entfernten” frequency rank
17913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entfernte entfernten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entfernt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entfernt

Where the eye mixes entfernte and entfernten

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

9 ch
entfernte
10 ch
entfernten

Visual trap between entfernte and entfernten

A purely visual mix-up. entfernte ([ɛntˈfɛʁntə]) and entfernten ([ɛntˈfɛʁntn̩]) 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) - “entfernte” sits inside “entfernten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entfernte is recorded at frequency rank #9,362, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈfɛʁntə]. 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 17913, this pair ranks #1,923,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entfernte vs entfernten

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

"entfernte" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCCV  ·  "entfernten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entfernte ← enfternte · enntfernte · entefrnte · entfenrte · entfernet · entfernnte · entferntte · entferrnte
  • entfernten ← enfternten · enntfernten · entefrnten · entfenrten · entfernetn · entfernnten · entferntenn · entferntne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entfernte" for "entfernten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈfɛʁntə] versus [ɛntˈfɛʁntn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entfernte" or "entfernten" show up more?
"entfernten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,551 in our German list, against #9,362 for "entfernte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entfernte" 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 #1,923,128 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entfernte" and "entfernten" 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 #1,923,128 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