entzündetevsentzündetenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,164
“entzündete” frequency rank
#49,626
“entzündeten” frequency rank
84790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entzündete entzündeten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entzündet Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs entzündet

Where the eye mixes entzündete and entzündeten

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

10 ch
entzündete
11 ch
entzündeten

Look-alike desk: entzündete vs entzündeten

A purely visual mix-up. entzündete ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndətə]) and entzündeten ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndətn̩]) 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) - “entzündete” sits inside “entzündeten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entzündete is recorded at frequency rank #35,164, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡sʏndətə]. entzündeten is at rank #49,626, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡sʏndətn̩].

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 84790, this pair ranks #118,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of entzündete vs entzündeten

Shared letters: dentzü. Private to "entzündete": -. Private to "entzündeten": -.

"entzündete" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCV  ·  "entzündeten" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entzündete" for "entzündeten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndətə] versus [ɛntˈt͡sʏndətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entzündete" or "entzündeten"?
"entzündete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,164 in our German list, against #49,626 for "entzündeten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entzündete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entzündeten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #118,214 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entzündete" and "entzündeten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entzünden vs entzündeten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #118,214 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