motivierenvsmotivierteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: motivieren is a verb, motivierte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“motivieren” is a verb and “motivierte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,132
“motivieren” frequency rank
#13,445
“motivierte” frequency rank
25577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature motivieren motivierte
Definition jemanden dazu bringen, sich aus eigenem Antrieb um etwas zu kümmern Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs motiviert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set motivieren and motivierte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
motivieren
10 ch
motivierte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

motivieren and motivierte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

motivieren is recorded at frequency rank #12,132, classified as averb, pronounced [motiˈviːʁən]. motivierte is at rank #13,445, tagged as anadj, pronounced [motiˈviːɐ̯tə].

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 25577, this pair ranks #1,831,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

motivieren#12,132
motivierte#13,445

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "motivieren" and "motivierte" be used interchangeably?
No, "motivieren" and "motivierte" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering motivieren vs motivierte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “motivieren”; for an adjective, it's “motivierte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “motivieren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list