Which to use
“entscheiden” is a verb and “entscheidende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,053
- “entscheiden” frequency rank
- #4,873
- “entscheidende” frequency rank
- 5926
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entscheiden | entscheidende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Auswahl treffen, sich bestimmen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs entscheidend |
Where the eye mixes entscheiden and entscheidende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. entscheiden runs 11 letters (VCCCCCVVCVC) against entscheidende's 13 (VCCCCCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses entscheiden with entscheidende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entscheiden is [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩] while entscheidende is [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “entscheiden” sits inside “entscheidende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entscheiden is recorded at frequency rank #1,053, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩]. entscheidende is at rank #4,873, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dn̩də].
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 5926, this pair ranks #1,993,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entscheiden vs entscheidende
Shared letters: cdehinst. Private to "entscheiden": -. Private to "entscheidende": -.
"entscheiden" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVC · "entscheidende" · 13 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- entscheiden ← enntscheiden · enstcheiden · entcsheiden · entsccheiden · entscehiden · entschedien · entscheidden · entscheidenn
- entscheidende ← enntscheidende · enstcheidende · entcsheidende · entsccheidende · entscehidende · entschediende · entscheiddende · entscheidedne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "entscheiden" and "entscheidende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "entscheiden" or "entscheidende" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "entscheiden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entscheidende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entscheiden" and "entscheidende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entscheidende vs entscheidendes". 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 #1,993,286 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.