optimierenvsoptimierteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,644
“optimieren” frequency rank
#44,111
“optimierte” frequency rank
58755
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature optimieren optimierte
Definition etwas weiter verbessern, so weit es nötig und auch möglich ist; etwas in den bestmöglichen Zustand versetzen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs optimiert

Where the eye mixes optimieren and optimierte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
optimieren
10 ch
optimierte

Visual trap between optimieren and optimierte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: optimieren is [ɔptiˈmiːʁən] while optimierte is [ɔptiˈmiːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

optimieren is recorded at frequency rank #14,644, classified as averb, pronounced [ɔptiˈmiːʁən]. optimierte is at rank #44,111, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɔptiˈmiːɐ̯tə].

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 58755, this pair ranks #850,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of optimieren vs optimierte

Shared letters: eimoprt. Private to "optimieren": n. Private to "optimierte": -.

"optimieren" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCVC  ·  "optimierte" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • optimierenopitmieren · opptimieren · optiimeren · optimeiren · optimieern · optimierenn · optimierne · optimierren
  • optimierteopitmierte · opptimierte · optiimerte · optimeirte · optimieret · optimierrte · optimiertte · optimietre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "optimieren" and "optimierte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "optimieren" is a verb and "optimierte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "optimieren" or "optimierte"?
"optimieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,644 in our German list, against #44,111 for "optimierte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "optimieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "optimierte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #850,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "optimieren" and "optimierte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "optimiert vs optimierte". 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 #850,543 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