Which to use
“merk” and “merkte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,537
- “merk” frequency rank
- #8,596
- “merkte” frequency rank
- 21133
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merk | merkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs merken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs merken |
Where the eye mixes merk and merkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. merk runs 4 letters (CVCC) against merkte's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: merk vs merkte
A purely visual mix-up. merk ([mɛʁk]) and merkte ([ˈmɛʁktə]) 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) - “merk” sits inside “merkte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21133, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merk is recorded at frequency rank #12,537, classified as averb, pronounced [mɛʁk]. merkte is at rank #8,596, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛʁktə].
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 21133, this pair ranks #1,889,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of merk vs merkte
Shared letters: ekmr. Private to "merk": -. Private to "merkte": t.
"merk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "merkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "merk" for "merkte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "merk" vs "merkte" - which ranks higher?
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 "merk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "merkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,889,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merk" and "merkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merk vs mora". 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 #1,889,794 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.