entspannvsentspannteTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#34,620
“entspann” frequency rank
#17,273
“entspannte” frequency rank
51893
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entspann entspannte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entspannen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entspannt

Where the eye mixes entspann and entspannte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. entspann runs 8 letters (VCCCCVCC) against entspannte's 10 (VCCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
entspann
10 ch
entspannte

Visual trap between entspann and entspannte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entspann is [ɛntˈʃpan] while entspannte is [ɛntˈʃpantə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “entspann” sits inside “entspannte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entspann is recorded at frequency rank #34,620, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃpan]. entspannte is at rank #17,273, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈʃpantə].

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 51893, this pair ranks #1,117,988 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entspann vs entspannte

Shared letters: aenpst. Private to "entspann": -. Private to "entspannte": -.

"entspann" · 8 letters · shape VCCCCVCC  ·  "entspannte" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entspann ← enntspann · enstpann · entpsann · entsapnn · entspan · entspnan · entsppann · entsspann
  • entspannte ← enntspannte · enstpannte · entpsannte · entsapnnte · entspannet · entspanntte · entspante · entspantne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entspann" and "entspannte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entspann" is a verb and "entspannte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "entspann" vs "entspannte" - which ranks higher?
"entspannte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,273 in our German list, against #34,620 for "entspann". 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 "entspann" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entspannte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,117,988 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entspann" and "entspannte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entsandte vs entspannte". 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 #1,117,988 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