gründenvsgründetenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,085
“gründen” frequency rank
#17,925
“gründeten” frequency rank
19010
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gründen gründeten
Definition eine Institution, eine Organisation einrichten 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs gründen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
gründen
9 ch
gründeten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gründen ([ˈɡʁʏndn̩]) and gründeten ([ˈɡʁʏndətn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gründen is recorded at frequency rank #1,085, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɡʁʏndn̩]. gründeten is at rank #17,925, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɡʁʏndətn̩].

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 19010, this pair ranks #1,912,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gründen vs gründeten

Shared letters: degnrü. Private to "gründen": -. Private to "gründeten": t.

"gründen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "gründeten" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

gründen#1,085
gründeten#17,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gründen" and "gründeten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁʏndn̩] versus [ˈɡʁʏndətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gründen" or "gründeten"?
"gründen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,085 in our German list, against #17,925 for "gründeten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gründen vs gründeten

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 “gründen” 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