kaputtenvskaputterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,972
“kaputten” frequency rank
#45,376
“kaputter” frequency rank
66348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kaputten kaputter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kaputt Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kaputt

Where the eye mixes kaputten and kaputter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
kaputten
8 ch
kaputter

Visual trap between kaputten and kaputter

A purely visual mix-up. kaputten ([kaˈpʊtn̩]) and kaputter ([kaˈpʊtɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “kaputten” becomes r in “kaputter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kaputten is recorded at frequency rank #20,972, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈpʊtn̩]. kaputter is at rank #45,376, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kaˈpʊtɐ].

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 66348, this pair ranks #576,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kaputten vs kaputter

Shared letters: aekptu. Private to "kaputten": n. Private to "kaputter": r.

"kaputten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "kaputter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kaputtenakputten · kapputten · kaptuten · kaputen · kaputetn · kaputtenn · kaputtne · kauptten
  • kaputterakputter · kapputter · kaptuter · kaputer · kaputetr · kaputterr · kaputtre · kauptter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kaputten" and "kaputter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kaˈpʊtn̩] versus [kaˈpʊtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kaputten" or "kaputter"?
"kaputten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,972 in our German list, against #45,376 for "kaputter". 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 "kaputten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kaputter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #576,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kaputten" and "kaputter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kaputter vs Kutter". 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 #576,365 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