entscheidevsentscheidenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,062
“entscheide” frequency rank
#1,053
“entscheiden” frequency rank
13115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entscheide entscheiden
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entscheiden eine Auswahl treffen, sich bestimmen

Where the eye mixes entscheide and entscheiden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. entscheide runs 10 letters (VCCCCCVVCV) against entscheiden's 11 (VCCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
entscheide
11 ch
entscheiden

Why the eye confuses entscheide with entscheiden

A purely visual mix-up. entscheide ([ɛntˈʃaɪ̯də]) and entscheiden ([ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩]) 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) - “entscheide” sits inside “entscheiden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entscheide is recorded at frequency rank #12,062, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯də]. entscheiden is at rank #1,053, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩].

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 13115, this pair ranks #1,960,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entscheide vs entscheiden

Shared letters: cdehinst. Private to "entscheide": -. Private to "entscheiden": -.

"entscheide" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCV  ·  "entscheiden" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entscheide ← enntscheide · enstcheide · entcsheide · entsccheide · entscehide · entschedie · entscheidde · entscheied
  • entscheiden ← enntscheiden · enstcheiden · entcsheiden · entsccheiden · entscehiden · entschedien · entscheidden · entscheidenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entscheide" for "entscheiden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈʃaɪ̯də] versus [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entscheide" or "entscheiden" show up more?
"entscheiden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,053 in our German list, against #12,062 for "entscheide". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entscheide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entscheiden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,960,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entscheide" and "entscheiden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entscheide vs Entscheider". 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 #1,960,029 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