Which to use
“prägen” and “prägten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,728
- “prägen” frequency rank
- #27,459
- “prägten” frequency rank
- 39187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prägen | prägten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einer bildlichen Darstellung, einem oder mehreren Schriftzeichen, Symbolen oder einem Muster jedweder Art versehen, wobei durch Druck mit dazu angemessenen Werkzeugen oder Maschinen der Oberfläche von tauglichem Material – wie beispielsweise Metall, Papier, Leder – reliefartig eine bestimmte Form gegeben wird | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs prägen |
Where the eye mixes prägen and prägten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. prägen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against prägten's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prägen and prägten
A purely visual mix-up. prägen ([ˈpʁɛːɡn̩]) and prägten ([ˈpʁɛːktn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prägen is recorded at frequency rank #11,728, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁɛːɡn̩]. prägten is at rank #27,459, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁɛːktn̩].
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 39187, this pair ranks #1,543,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prägen vs prägten
Shared letters: egnprä. Private to "prägen": -. Private to "prägten": t.
"prägen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "prägten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prägen" for "prägten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "prägen" or "prägten" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prägen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prägten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,543,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prägen" and "prägten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prägten vs prahlen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,543,685 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.