irrtvsirrteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,308
“irrt” frequency rank
#46,755
“irrte” frequency rank
67063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature irrt irrte
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs irren 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs irren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irrt and irrte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
irrt
5 ch
irrte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. irrt ([ɪʁt]) and irrte ([ˈɪʁtə]) 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) - “irrt” sits inside “irrte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

irrt is recorded at frequency rank #20,308, classified as averb, pronounced [ɪʁt]. irrte is at rank #46,755, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɪʁtə].

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 67063, this pair ranks #552,461 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of irrt vs irrte

Shared letters: irt. Private to "irrt": -. Private to "irrte": e.

"irrt" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "irrte" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • irrtirrtt · irt · irtr · rirt
  • irrteirret · irrtte · irte · irtre · rirte

Frequency comparison

irrt#20,308
irrte#46,755

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "irrt" and "irrte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɪʁt] versus [ˈɪʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "irrt" or "irrte"?
"irrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,308 in our German list, against #46,755 for "irrte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering irrt vs irrte

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 “irrt” 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