entführenvsentführtenTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#18,223
“entführen” frequency rank
#32,503
“entführten” frequency rank
50726
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entführen entführten
Definition jemanden (oder etwas in dem sich Personen befinden) heimlich oder gewaltsam wegbringen, verschleppen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entführt

Where the eye mixes entführen and entführten

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

9 ch
entführen
10 ch
entführten

Visual trap between entführen and entführten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entführen is [ɛntˈfyːʁən] while entführten is [ɛntˈfyːɐ̯tn̩]. 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 50726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entführen is recorded at frequency rank #18,223, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfyːʁən]. entführten is at rank #32,503, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈfyːɐ̯tn̩].

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 50726, this pair ranks #1,162,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entführen vs entführten

Shared letters: efhnrtü. Private to "entführen": -. Private to "entführten": -.

"entführen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entführten" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entführen" and "entführten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entführen" is a verb and "entführten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "entführen" or "entführten"?
"entführen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,223 in our German list, against #32,503 for "entführten". 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 "entführen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entführten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,162,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entführen" and "entführten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entführte vs entführten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,162,829 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