Which to use
“merkte” and “merkten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,596
- “merkte” frequency rank
- #34,259
- “merkten” frequency rank
- 42855
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | merkte | merkten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs merken | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs merken |
Where the eye mixes merkte and merkten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. merkte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against merkten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: merkte vs merkten
A purely visual mix-up. merkte ([ˈmɛʁktə]) and merkten ([ˈmɛʁktn̩]) 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) - “merkte” sits inside “merkten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
merkte is recorded at frequency rank #8,596, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛʁktə]. merkten is at rank #34,259, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɛʁktn̩].
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 42855, this pair ranks #1,436,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of merkte vs merkten
Shared letters: ekmrt. Private to "merkte": -. Private to "merkten": n.
"merkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "merkten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "merkte" for "merkten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "merkte" vs "merkten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "merkte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "merkten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,436,371 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "merkte" and "merkten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marten vs merkten". 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 #1,436,371 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.