liefertevsliefertenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,501
“lieferte” frequency rank
#14,351
“lieferten” frequency rank
21852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lieferte lieferten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liefern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liefern

Where the eye mixes lieferte and lieferten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
lieferte
9 ch
lieferten

Why the eye confuses lieferte with lieferten

A purely visual mix-up. lieferte ([ˈliːfɐtə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “lieferte” sits inside “lieferten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lieferte is recorded at frequency rank #7,501, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfɐtə]. 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 21852, this pair ranks #1,881,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lieferte vs lieferten

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

"lieferte" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV  ·  "lieferten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lieferteileferte · leiferte · lieefrte · lieferet · lieferrte · liefertte · liefetre · liefferte
  • liefertenileferten · leiferten · lieefrten · lieferetn · lieferrten · liefertenn · liefertne · liefertten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lieferte" and "lieferten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːfɐtə] versus [ˈliːfɐtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lieferte" or "lieferten"?
"lieferte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,501 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 "lieferte" 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 #1,881,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lieferte" 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 #1,881,380 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