klingeltvsklingelteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,313
“klingelt” frequency rank
#25,199
“klingelte” frequency rank
35512
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klingelt klingelte
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs klingeln 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs klingeln

Where the eye mixes klingelt and klingelte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. klingelt runs 8 letters (CCVCCVCC) against klingelte's 9 (CCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
klingelt
9 ch
klingelte

Look-alike desk: klingelt vs klingelte

A purely visual mix-up. klingelt ([ˈklɪŋl̩t]) and klingelte ([ˈklɪŋl̩tə]) 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) - “klingelt” sits inside “klingelte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

klingelt is recorded at frequency rank #10,313, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklɪŋl̩t]. klingelte is at rank #25,199, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈklɪŋl̩tə].

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 35512, this pair ranks #1,638,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of klingelt vs klingelte

Shared letters: egiklnt. Private to "klingelt": -. Private to "klingelte": -.

"klingelt" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC  ·  "klingelte" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klingeltkilngelt · kklingelt · klignelt · klineglt · klingellt · klingeltt · klingetl · klinggelt
  • klingeltekilngelte · kklingelte · klignelte · klineglte · klingelet · klingellte · klingeltte · klingetle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "klingelt" for "klingelte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklɪŋl̩t] versus [ˈklɪŋl̩tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klingelt" or "klingelte" show up more?
"klingelt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,313 in our German list, against #25,199 for "klingelte". 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 "klingelt" and "klingelte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "klingelt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klingelte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,638,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klingelt" and "klingelte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klingelte vs Klingelton". 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 #1,638,244 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