kontrollierenvskontrolliertWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: kontrollieren is a verb, kontrolliert is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kontrollieren” is a verb and “kontrolliert” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,133
“kontrollieren” frequency rank
#4,051
“kontrolliert” frequency rank
8184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kontrollieren kontrolliert
Definition eine Person oder Sache daraufhin untersuchen, ob bei ihr bestimmte Kriterien, Anforderungen erfüllt sind jemand, der etwas mit Selbstbeherrschung und Selbstkontrolle durchführt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kontrollieren and kontrolliert apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
kontrollieren
12 ch
kontrolliert

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

kontrollieren and kontrolliert form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kontrollieren is recorded at frequency rank #4,133, classified as averb, pronounced [kɔntʁɔˈliːʁən]. kontrolliert is at rank #4,051, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kɔntʁɔˈliːɐ̯t].

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 8184, this pair ranks #1,985,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

kontrollieren#4,133
kontrolliert#4,051

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kontrollieren" and "kontrolliert" be used interchangeably?
No, "kontrollieren" and "kontrolliert" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering kontrollieren vs kontrolliert

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “kontrollieren”; for an adjective, it's “kontrolliert”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kontrollieren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list