Which to use
“prüft” and “prüfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,380
- “prüft” frequency rank
- #33,241
- “prüfte” frequency rank
- 40621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prüft | prüfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs prüfen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs prüfen |
Where the eye mixes prüft and prüfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prüft runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against prüfte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses prüft with prüfte
A purely visual mix-up. prüft ([pʁyːft]) and prüfte ([ˈpʁyːftə]) 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) - “prüft” sits inside “prüfte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prüft is recorded at frequency rank #7,380, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁyːft]. prüfte is at rank #33,241, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁyːftə].
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 40621, this pair ranks #1,503,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prüft vs prüfte
Shared letters: fprtü. Private to "prüft": -. Private to "prüfte": e.
"prüft" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "prüfte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prüft" and "prüfte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "prüft" or "prüfte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "prüft" and "prüfte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prüft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prüfte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,503,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prüft" and "prüfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prüf vs prüfte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,503,210 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.