probiervsprobierteTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#12,366
“probier” frequency rank
#42,061
“probierte” frequency rank
54427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature probier probierte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs probieren Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs probiert

Where the eye mixes probier and probierte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
probier
9 ch
probierte

Why the eye confuses probier with probierte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: probier is [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯] while probierte is [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “probier” sits inside “probierte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

probier is recorded at frequency rank #12,366, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯]. probierte is at rank #42,061, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯tə].

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 54427, this pair ranks #1,019,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of probier vs probierte

Shared letters: beiopr. Private to "probier": -. Private to "probierte": t.

"probier" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC  ·  "probierte" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • probierporbier · pprobier · prboier · probbier · probeir · probierr · probire · proiber
  • probierteporbierte · pprobierte · prboierte · probbierte · probeirte · probieret · probierrte · probiertte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "probier" and "probierte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "probier" is a verb and "probierte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "probier" vs "probierte" - which ranks higher?
"probier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,366 in our German list, against #42,061 for "probierte". 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 "probier" and "probierte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "probier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "probierte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,019,342 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "probier" and "probierte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "probiere vs probierte". 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 #1,019,342 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