nutztevsnutztenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,089
“nutzte” frequency rank
#11,491
“nutzten” frequency rank
18580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nutzte nutzten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs nutzen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs nutzen

Where the eye mixes nutzte and nutzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. nutzte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against nutzten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
nutzte
7 ch
nutzten

Look-alike desk: nutzte vs nutzten

A purely visual mix-up. nutzte ([ˈnʊt͡stə]) and nutzten ([ˈnʊt͡stn̩]) 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) - “nutzte” sits inside “nutzten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nutzte is recorded at frequency rank #7,089, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnʊt͡stə]. nutzten is at rank #11,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnʊt͡stn̩].

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 18580, this pair ranks #1,916,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nutzte vs nutzten

Shared letters: entuz. Private to "nutzte": -. Private to "nutzten": -.

"nutzte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "nutzten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nutzte ← nnutzte · ntuzte · nuttzte · nutzet · nutztte · nutzzte · nuztte · untzte
  • nutzten ← nnutzten · ntuzten · nuttzten · nutzetn · nutztenn · nutztne · nutztten · nutzzten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nutzte" and "nutzten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnʊt͡stə] versus [ˈnʊt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nutzte" or "nutzten"?
"nutzte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,089 in our German list, against #11,491 for "nutzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "nutzte" and "nutzten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nutzte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nutzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,916,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nutzte" and "nutzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Netzen vs nutzten". 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 #1,916,900 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list