fotografierenvsfotografiertWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,917
“fotografieren” frequency rank
#9,023
“fotografiert” frequency rank
16940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fotografieren fotografiert
Definition ein Foto machen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs fotografieren

Where the eye mixes fotografieren and fotografiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. fotografieren runs 13 letters (CVCVCCVCVVCVC) against fotografiert's 12 (CVCVCCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
fotografieren
12 ch
fotografiert

Look-alike desk: fotografieren vs fotografiert

A purely visual mix-up. fotografieren ([fotoɡʁaˈfiːʁən]) and fotografiert ([fotoɡʁaˈfiːɐ̯t]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fotografieren is recorded at frequency rank #7,917, classified as averb, pronounced [fotoɡʁaˈfiːʁən]. fotografiert is at rank #9,023, tagged as averb, pronounced [fotoɡʁaˈfiːɐ̯t].

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 16940, this pair ranks #1,931,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fotografieren vs fotografiert

Shared letters: aefgiort. Private to "fotografieren": n. Private to "fotografiert": -.

"fotografieren" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVVCVC  ·  "fotografiert" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fotografieren ← ffotografieren · footgrafieren · fotgorafieren · fotogarfieren · fotoggrafieren · fotografeiren · fotograffieren · fotografieern
  • fotografiert ← ffotografiert · footgrafiert · fotgorafiert · fotogarfiert · fotoggrafiert · fotografeirt · fotograffiert · fotografierrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fotografieren" and "fotografiert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fotoɡʁaˈfiːʁən] versus [fotoɡʁaˈfiːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "fotografieren" or "fotografiert" show up more?
"fotografieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,917 in our German list, against #9,023 for "fotografiert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "fotografieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fotografiert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,931,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fotografieren" and "fotografiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fotografiere vs fotografiert". 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 #1,931,755 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