glänztvsglänzteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,378
“glänzt” frequency rank
#35,211
“glänzte” frequency rank
50589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature glänzt glänzte
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs glänzen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs glänzen

Where the eye mixes glänzt and glänzte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
glänzt
7 ch
glänzte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. glänzt ([ɡlɛnt͡st]) and glänzte ([ˈɡlɛnt͡stə]) 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) - “glänzt” sits inside “glänzte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

glänzt is recorded at frequency rank #15,378, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡlɛnt͡st]. glänzte is at rank #35,211, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡlɛnt͡stə].

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 50589, this pair ranks #1,167,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of glänzt vs glänzte

Shared letters: glntzä. Private to "glänzt": -. Private to "glänzte": e.

"glänzt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "glänzte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "glänzt" and "glänzte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡlɛnt͡st] versus [ˈɡlɛnt͡stə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "glänzt" or "glänzte"?
"glänzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,378 in our German list, against #35,211 for "glänzte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "glänzt" and "glänzte". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "glänzt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "glänzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,167,929 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "glänzt" and "glänzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glänzte vs glänzten". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list