kümmertvskümmerteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,369
“kümmert” frequency rank
#14,616
“kümmerte” frequency rank
18985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kümmert kümmerte
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kümmern 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs kümmern

Where the eye mixes kümmert and kümmerte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. kümmert runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against kümmerte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
kümmert
8 ch
kümmerte

Visual trap between kümmert and kümmerte

A purely visual mix-up. kümmert ([ˈkʏmɐt]) and kümmerte ([ˈkʏmɐtə]) 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) - “kümmert” sits inside “kümmerte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kümmert is recorded at frequency rank #4,369, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏmɐt]. kümmerte is at rank #14,616, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkʏmɐtə].

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 18985, this pair ranks #1,912,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kümmert vs kümmerte

Shared letters: ekmrtü. Private to "kümmert": -. Private to "kümmerte": -.

"kümmert" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "kümmerte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "kümmert" and "kümmerte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʏmɐt] versus [ˈkʏmɐtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "kümmert" or "kümmerte" show up more?
"kümmert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,369 in our German list, against #14,616 for "kümmerte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kümmert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "kümmerte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,912,940 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kümmert" and "kümmerte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kümmert vs Kuvert". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,912,940 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