jagenvsjagtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,811
“jagen” frequency rank
#41,262
“jagten” frequency rank
48073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jagen jagten
Definition Jagd ausüben, Tier verfolgen und erlegen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs jagen

Where the eye mixes jagen and jagten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. jagen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against jagten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
jagen
6 ch
jagten

Visual trap between jagen and jagten

A purely visual mix-up. jagen ([ˈjaːɡn̩]) and jagten ([ˈjaːktn̩]) 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 48073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jagen is recorded at frequency rank #6,811, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈjaːɡn̩]. jagten is at rank #41,262, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈjaːktn̩].

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 48073, this pair ranks #1,261,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of jagen vs jagten

Shared letters: aegjn. Private to "jagen": -. Private to "jagten": t.

"jagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "jagten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jagen ← ajgen · jaegn · jagenn · jaggen · jagne · jgaen · jjagen
  • jagten ← ajgten · jagetn · jaggten · jagtenn · jagtne · jagtten · jatgen · jgaten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "jagen" and "jagten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈjaːɡn̩] versus [ˈjaːktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "jagen" vs "jagten" - which ranks higher?
"jagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,811 in our German list, against #41,262 for "jagten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "jagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jagten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,261,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jagen" and "jagten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Jägern vs jagten". 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 #1,261,772 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list