fürchtevsfürchtetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,660
“fürchte” frequency rank
#9,550
“fürchtet” frequency rank
16210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fürchte fürchtet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fürchten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fürchten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fürchte and fürchtet apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
fürchte
8 ch
fürchtet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fürchte ([ˈfʏʁçtə]) and fürchtet ([ˈfʏʁçtət]) 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) - “fürchte” sits inside “fürchtet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fürchte is recorded at frequency rank #6,660, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtə]. fürchtet is at rank #9,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtət].

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 16210, this pair ranks #1,937,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fürchte vs fürchtet

Shared letters: cefhrtü. Private to "fürchte": -. Private to "fürchtet": -.

"fürchte" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV  ·  "fürchtet" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequency comparison

fürchte#6,660
fürchtet#9,550

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fürchte" and "fürchtet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʏʁçtə] versus [ˈfʏʁçtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fürchte" or "fürchtet"?
"fürchte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,660 in our German list, against #9,550 for "fürchtet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fürchte vs fürchtet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fürchte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list