Which to use
“glänzen” and “glänzten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,169
- “glänzen” frequency rank
- #49,743
- “glänzten” frequency rank
- 65912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | glänzen | glänzten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine reflektierende Oberfläche haben, schimmern; schillern | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs glänzen |
Where the eye mixes glänzen and glänzten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. glänzen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against glänzten's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between glänzen and glänzten
A purely visual mix-up. glänzen ([ˈɡlɛnt͡sn̩]) and glänzten ([ˈɡlɛnt͡stn̩]) 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 65912, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
glänzen is recorded at frequency rank #16,169, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlɛnt͡sn̩]. glänzten is at rank #49,743, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlɛnt͡stn̩].
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 65912, this pair ranks #590,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of glänzen vs glänzten
Shared letters: eglnzä. Private to "glänzen": -. Private to "glänzten": t.
"glänzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "glänzten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "glänzen" and "glänzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "glänzen" or "glänzten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "glänzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "glänzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #590,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "glänzen" and "glänzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glänzte vs glänzten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #590,802 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.