explodierenvsexplodiertTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#13,817
“explodieren” frequency rank
#10,469
“explodiert” frequency rank
24286
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explodieren explodiert
Definition plötzlich heftig auseinanderfliegen in einer Explosion auseinandergeflogen, laut zerplatzt

Where the eye mixes explodieren and explodiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

11 ch
explodieren
10 ch
explodiert

Why the eye confuses explodieren with explodiert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: explodieren is [ɛksploˈdiːʁən] while explodiert is [ɛksploˈdiːɐ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explodieren is recorded at frequency rank #13,817, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛksploˈdiːʁən]. explodiert is at rank #10,469, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛksploˈdiːɐ̯t].

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 24286, this pair ranks #1,849,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of explodieren vs explodiert

Shared letters: deiloprx. Private to "explodieren": n. Private to "explodiert": t.

"explodieren" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVVCVC  ·  "explodiert" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explodierenepxlodieren · exlpodieren · expldoieren · expllodieren · exploddieren · explodeiren · explodieern · explodierenn
  • explodiertepxlodiert · exlpodiert · expldoiert · expllodiert · exploddiert · explodeirt · explodierrt · explodiertt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explodieren" for "explodiert" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "explodieren" is a verb and "explodiert" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "explodieren" vs "explodiert" - which ranks higher?
"explodiert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,469 in our German list, against #13,817 for "explodieren". 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 "explodieren" and "explodiert" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explodieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explodiert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,849,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explodieren" and "explodiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expandiert vs explodiert". 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 #1,849,784 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