protestierenvsprotestierteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,724
“protestieren” frequency rank
#34,865
“protestierte” frequency rank
45589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature protestieren protestierte
Definition sich entschieden gegen etwas wenden_([4]) 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs protestieren

Where the eye mixes protestieren and protestierte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. protestieren (CCVCVCCVVCVC) and protestierte (CCVCVCCVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

12 ch
protestieren
12 ch
protestierte

Look-alike desk: protestieren vs protestierte

A purely visual mix-up. protestieren ([pʁotɛsˈtiːʁən]) and protestierte ([pʁotɛsˈtiːɐ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

protestieren is recorded at frequency rank #10,724, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁotɛsˈtiːʁən]. protestierte is at rank #34,865, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁotɛsˈtiːɐ̯tə].

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 45589, this pair ranks #1,347,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of protestieren vs protestierte

Shared letters: eioprst. Private to "protestieren": n. Private to "protestierte": -.

"protestieren" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCVC  ·  "protestierte" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • protestieren ← portestieren · pprotestieren · proetstieren · protesiteren · protesstieren · protesteiren · protestieern · protestierenn
  • protestierte ← portestierte · pprotestierte · proetstierte · protesiterte · protesstierte · protesteirte · protestieret · protestierrte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "protestieren" for "protestierte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pʁotɛsˈtiːʁən] versus [pʁotɛsˈtiːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "protestieren" or "protestierte"?
"protestieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,724 in our German list, against #34,865 for "protestierte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "protestieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "protestierte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,347,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "protestieren" and "protestierte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "protestierte vs protestierten". 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 #1,347,892 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