ergänztevsergänztenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,076
“ergänzte” frequency rank
#42,464
“ergänzten” frequency rank
57540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ergänzte ergänzten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ergänzt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ergänzt

Where the eye mixes ergänzte and ergänzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ergänzte runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCV) against ergänzten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ergänzte
9 ch
ergänzten

Look-alike desk: ergänzte vs ergänzten

A purely visual mix-up. ergänzte ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stə]) and ergänzten ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stn̩]) 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) - “ergänzte” sits inside “ergänzten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ergänzte is recorded at frequency rank #15,076, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stə]. ergänzten is at rank #42,464, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stn̩].

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 57540, this pair ranks #897,485 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ergänzte vs ergänzten

Shared letters: egnrtzä. Private to "ergänzte": -. Private to "ergänzten": -.

"ergänzte" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV  ·  "ergänzten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ergänzte" and "ergänzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈɡɛnt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ergänzte" or "ergänzten"?
"ergänzte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,076 in our German list, against #42,464 for "ergänzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ergänzte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ergänzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #897,485 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ergänzte" and "ergänzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ergänze vs ergänzten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #897,485 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