entzündenvsentzündetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,628
“entzünden” frequency rank
#16,979
“entzündet” frequency rank
45607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entzünden entzündet
Definition in Brand setzen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs entzünden

Where the eye mixes entzünden and entzündet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. entzünden and entzündet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
entzünden
9 ch
entzündet

Why the eye confuses entzünden with entzündet

A purely visual mix-up. entzünden ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩]) and entzündet ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndət]) 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 a single letter - n in “entzünden” becomes t in “entzündet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entzünden is recorded at frequency rank #28,628, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩]. entzündet is at rank #16,979, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡sʏndət].

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 45607, this pair ranks #1,347,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entzünden vs entzündet

Shared letters: dentzü. Private to "entzünden": -. Private to "entzündet": -.

"entzünden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entzündet" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entzünden" and "entzündet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩] versus [ɛntˈt͡sʏndət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entzünden" vs "entzündet" - which ranks higher?
"entzündet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,979 in our German list, against #28,628 for "entzünden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entzünden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entzündet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,347,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entzünden" and "entzündet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entzünden vs entzündeten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,347,307 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