KämpfervskämpfteTell them apart

Quick tell: Kämpfer is a noun, kämpfte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Kämpfer” is a noun and “kämpfte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,367
“Kämpfer” frequency rank
#8,901
“kämpfte” frequency rank
13268
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kämpfer kämpfte
Definition jemand, der kämpft 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kämpfen

Where the eye mixes Kämpfer and kämpfte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Kämpfer (CVCCCVC) and kämpfte (CVCCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Kämpfer
7 ch
kämpfte

Look-alike desk: Kämpfer vs kämpfte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kämpfer is [ˈkɛmp͡fɐ] while kämpfte is [ˈkɛmp͡ftə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13268, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kämpfer is recorded at frequency rank #4,367, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛmp͡fɐ]. kämpfte is at rank #8,901, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɛmp͡ftə].

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 13268, this pair ranks #1,959,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kämpfer vs kämpfte

Shared letters: efkmpä. Private to "Kämpfer": r. Private to "kämpfte": t.

"Kämpfer" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "kämpfte" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Kämpfer" and "kämpfte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kämpfer" is a noun and "kämpfte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Kämpfer" vs "kämpfte" - which ranks higher?
"Kämpfer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,367 in our German list, against #8,901 for "kämpfte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Kämpfer" and "kämpfte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kämpfer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kämpfte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,959,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kämpfer" and "kämpfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kämpfst vs kämpfte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,959,037 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