konntevskonntetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#214
“konnte” frequency rank
#46,080
“konntet” frequency rank
46294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature konnte konntet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs können 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs können

Where the eye mixes konnte and konntet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. konnte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against konntet's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
konnte
7 ch
konntet

Why the eye confuses konnte with konntet

A purely visual mix-up. konnte ([ˈkɔntə]) and konntet ([ˈkɔntət]) 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) - “konnte” sits inside “konntet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

konnte is recorded at frequency rank #214, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔntə]. konntet is at rank #46,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkɔntət].

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 46294, this pair ranks #1,324,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of konnte vs konntet

Shared letters: eknot. Private to "konnte": -. Private to "konntet": -.

"konnte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "konntet" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • konntekkonnte · knonte · konnet · konntte · konte · kontne · oknnte
  • konntetkkonntet · knontet · konnett · konntett · konnttet · kontet · kontnet · oknntet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "konnte" and "konntet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɔntə] versus [ˈkɔntət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "konnte" vs "konntet" - which ranks higher?
"konnte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #214 in our German list, against #46,080 for "konntet". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "konnte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "konntet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,324,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "konnte" and "konntet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "konntet vs kontert". 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 #1,324,087 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