liefertvsliefertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,134
“liefert” frequency rank
#14,351
“lieferten” frequency rank
17485
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature liefert lieferten
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liefern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liefern

Where the eye mixes liefert and lieferten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. liefert runs 7 letters (CVVCVCC) against lieferten's 9 (CVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
liefert
9 ch
lieferten

Look-alike desk: liefert vs lieferten

A purely visual mix-up. liefert ([ˈliːfɐt]) and lieferten ([ˈliːfɐtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “liefert” sits inside “lieferten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

liefert is recorded at frequency rank #3,134, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfɐt]. 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 17485, this pair ranks #1,926,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of liefert vs lieferten

Shared letters: efilrt. Private to "liefert": -. Private to "lieferten": n.

"liefert" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "lieferten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liefertilefert · leifert · lieefrt · lieferrt · liefertt · liefetr · lieffert · liefret
  • liefertenileferten · leiferten · lieefrten · lieferetn · lieferrten · liefertenn · liefertne · liefertten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "liefert" and "lieferten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːfɐt] versus [ˈliːfɐtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "liefert" or "lieferten" show up more?
"liefert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,134 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "liefert" 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 #1,926,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "liefert" and "lieferten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liefert vs lindert". 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 #1,926,957 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