importierenvsimportiertenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: importieren is a verb, importierten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“importieren” is a verb and “importierten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,024
“importieren” frequency rank
#38,195
“importierten” frequency rank
60219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature importieren importierten
Definition Waren aus dem Ausland in das eigene Land einführen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs importiert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set importieren and importierten apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
importieren
12 ch
importierten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: importieren is [ɪmpɔʁˈtiːʁən] while importierten is [ɪmpɔʁˈtiːɐ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

importieren is recorded at frequency rank #22,024, classified as averb, pronounced [ɪmpɔʁˈtiːʁən]. importierten is at rank #38,195, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɪmpɔʁˈtiːɐ̯tn̩].

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 60219, this pair ranks #795,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of importieren vs importierten

Shared letters: eimnoprt. Private to "importieren": -. Private to "importierten": -.

"importieren" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCVC  ·  "importierten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • importierenimmportieren · imoprtieren · imporiteren · imporrtieren · importeiren · importieern · importierenn · importierne
  • importiertenimmportierten · imoprtierten · imporiterten · imporrtierten · importeirten · importieretn · importierrten · importiertenn

Frequency comparison

importieren#22,024
importierten#38,195

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "importieren" and "importierten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "importieren" is a verb and "importierten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "importieren" or "importierten"?
"importieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,024 in our German list, against #38,195 for "importierten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering importieren vs importierten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “importieren”; for an adjective, it's “importierten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “importieren” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list