melden vs meldeten, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,816
“melden” frequency rank: #21,694
“meldeten” frequency rank: 23510
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	melden	meldeten
Definition	ein Ereignis (beispielsweise einem Vorgesetzten oder einer offiziellen Stelle) berichten	1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs melden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set melden and meldeten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

melden

8 ch

meldeten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. melden ([ˈmɛldn̩]) and meldeten ([ˈmɛldətn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

melden is recorded at frequency rank #1,816, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛldn̩]. meldeten is at rank #21,694, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛldətn̩].

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 23510, this pair ranks #1,860,370 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of melden vs meldeten

Shared letters: delmn. Private to "melden": -. Private to "meldeten": t.

"melden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "meldeten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

melden ← emlden · medlen · meldden · meldenn · meldne · meledn · mellden · mleden
meldeten ← emldeten · medleten · melddeten · meldeetn · meldetenn · meldetne · meldetten · meldteen

Frequency comparison

melden#1,816

meldeten#21,694

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "melden" and "meldeten" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛldn̩] versus [ˈmɛldətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "melden" or "meldeten"?

"melden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,816 in our German list, against #21,694 for "meldeten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering melden vs meldeten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “melden” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable