fürchtetvsfürchtetenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,550
“fürchtet” frequency rank
#33,056
“fürchteten” frequency rank
42606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fürchtet fürchteten
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs fürchten 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs fürchten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fürchtet and fürchteten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
fürchtet
10 ch
fürchteten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fürchtet ([ˈfʏʁçtət]) and fürchteten ([ˈfʏʁçtətn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “fürchtet” sits inside “fürchteten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fürchtet is recorded at frequency rank #9,550, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtət]. fürchteten is at rank #33,056, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏʁçtətn̩].

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 42606, this pair ranks #1,444,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fürchtet vs fürchteten

Shared letters: cefhrtü. Private to "fürchtet": -. Private to "fürchteten": n.

"fürchtet" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "fürchteten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

fürchtet#9,550
fürchteten#33,056

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fürchtet" and "fürchteten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʏʁçtət] versus [ˈfʏʁçtətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fürchtet" or "fürchteten"?
"fürchtet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,550 in our German list, against #33,056 for "fürchteten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fürchtet vs fürchteten

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 “fürchtet” 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