Which to use
“merken” and “merkte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,139
- “merken” frequency rank
- #8,596
- “merkte” frequency rank
- 11735
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merken | merkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit den Sinnen wahrnehmen, sich einer Sache bewusst werden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs merken |
Where the eye mixes merken and merkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. merken (CVCCVC) and merkte (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses merken with merkte
A purely visual mix-up. merken ([ˈmɛʁkn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11735, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merken is recorded at frequency rank #3,139, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛʁkn̩]. 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 11735, this pair ranks #1,968,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of merken vs merkte
Shared letters: ekmr. Private to "merken": n. Private to "merkte": t.
"merken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "merkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "merken" and "merkte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "merken" or "merkte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "merken" 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 #1,968,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merken" and "merkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merkte vs Mette". 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 #1,968,213 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.