fülltvsfüllteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,722
“füllt” frequency rank
#22,341
“füllte” frequency rank
32063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature füllt füllte
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs füllen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs füllen

Where the eye mixes füllt and füllte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. füllt runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against füllte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
füllt
6 ch
füllte

Why the eye confuses füllt with füllte

A purely visual mix-up. füllt ([fʏlt]) and füllte ([ˈfʏltə]) 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) - “füllt” sits inside “füllte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

füllt is recorded at frequency rank #9,722, classified as averb, pronounced [fʏlt]. füllte is at rank #22,341, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏltə].

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 32063, this pair ranks #1,715,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of füllt vs füllte

Shared letters: fltü. Private to "füllt": -. Private to "füllte": e.

"füllt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "füllte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "füllt" and "füllte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fʏlt] versus [ˈfʏltə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "füllt" or "füllte"?
"füllt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,722 in our German list, against #22,341 for "füllte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "füllt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "füllte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,715,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "füllt" and "füllte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filmte vs füllte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,715,441 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