Which to use
“existiere” and “existierten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,576
- “existiere” frequency rank
- #28,644
- “existierten” frequency rank
- 62220
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | existiere | existierten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs existieren | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs existieren |
Where the eye mixes existiere and existierten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses existiere with existierten
A purely visual mix-up. existiere ([ˌɛksɪsˈtiːʁə]) and existierten ([ˌɛksɪsˈtiːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
existiere is recorded at frequency rank #33,576, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌɛksɪsˈtiːʁə]. existierten is at rank #28,644, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌɛksɪsˈtiːɐ̯tn̩].
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 62220, this pair ranks #720,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of existiere vs existierten
Shared letters: eirstx. Private to "existiere": -. Private to "existierten": n.
"existiere" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVVCV · "existierten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- existiere ← eixstiere · exisitere · exisstiere · existeire · existieer · existierre · existiree · existtiere
- existierten ← eixstierten · exisiterten · exisstierten · existeirten · existieretn · existierrten · existiertenn · existiertne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "existiere" for "existierten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "existiere" or "existierten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "existiere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "existierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #720,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "existiere" and "existierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "existiere vs existierte". 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 #720,910 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.