LieferantenvsliefertenTell them apart

Quick tell: Lieferanten is a noun, lieferten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lieferanten” is a noun and “lieferten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,335
“Lieferanten” frequency rank
#14,351
“lieferten” frequency rank
26686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lieferanten lieferten
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lieferant 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liefern

Where the eye mixes Lieferanten and lieferten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Lieferanten runs 11 letters (CVVCVCVCCVC) against lieferten's 9 (CVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Lieferanten
9 ch
lieferten

Visual trap between Lieferanten and lieferten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lieferanten is [liːfəˈʁantn̩] while lieferten is [ˈliːfɐtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lieferanten is recorded at frequency rank #12,335, classified as anoun, pronounced [liːfəˈʁantn̩]. lieferten is at rank #14,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfɐtn̩].

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 26686, this pair ranks #1,814,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lieferanten vs lieferten

Shared letters: efilnrt. Private to "Lieferanten": a. Private to "lieferten": -.

"Lieferanten" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCVCCVC  ·  "lieferten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lieferantenileferanten · leiferanten · lieefranten · liefearnten · lieferanetn · lieferannten · lieferantenn · lieferantne
  • liefertenileferten · leiferten · lieefrten · lieferetn · lieferrten · liefertenn · liefertne · liefertten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lieferanten" and "lieferten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lieferanten" is a noun and "lieferten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lieferanten" or "lieferten"?
"Lieferanten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,335 in our German list, against #14,351 for "lieferten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lieferanten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lieferten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,814,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lieferanten" and "lieferten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liefere vs lieferten". 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 #1,814,071 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