Which to use
“heiraten” and “heiratete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,276
- “heiraten” frequency rank
- #12,093
- “heiratete” frequency rank
- 16369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heiraten | heiratete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Bund der Ehe eingehen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs heiraten |
Where the eye mixes heiraten and heiratete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. heiraten runs 8 letters (CVVCVCVC) against heiratete's 9 (CVVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses heiraten with heiratete
A purely visual mix-up. heiraten ([ˈhaɪ̯ʁaːtn̩]) and heiratete ([ˈhaɪ̯ʁaːtətə]) 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 16369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heiraten is recorded at frequency rank #4,276, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯ʁaːtn̩]. heiratete is at rank #12,093, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈhaɪ̯ʁaːtətə].
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 16369, this pair ranks #1,936,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of heiraten vs heiratete
Shared letters: aehirt. Private to "heiraten": n. Private to "heiratete": -.
"heiraten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "heiratete" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "heiraten" for "heiratete" ever safe?
Which is more common, "heiraten" or "heiratete"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "heiraten" and "heiratete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "heiraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "heiratete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heiraten" and "heiratete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heiratete vs heirateten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,936,422 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.