separatenvsseparatesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,057
“separaten” frequency rank
#49,250
“separates” frequency rank
69307
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature separaten separates
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs separat Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs separat

Where the eye mixes separaten and separates

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
separaten
9 ch
separates

Look-alike desk: separaten vs separates

A purely visual mix-up. separaten ([zepaˈʁaːtn̩]) and separates ([zepaˈʁaːtəs]) 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 a single letter - n in “separaten” becomes s in “separates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69307, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

separaten is recorded at frequency rank #20,057, classified as anadj, pronounced [zepaˈʁaːtn̩]. separates is at rank #49,250, tagged as anadj, pronounced [zepaˈʁaːtəs].

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 69307, this pair ranks #480,578 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of separaten vs separates

Shared letters: aeprst. Private to "separaten": n. Private to "separates": -.

"separaten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "separates" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • separatenesparaten · seapraten · sepaarten · separaetn · separatenn · separatne · separatten · separraten
  • separatesesparates · seaprates · sepaartes · separaets · separatess · separatse · separattes · separrates

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "separaten" and "separates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([zepaˈʁaːtn̩] versus [zepaˈʁaːtəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "separaten" or "separates"?
"separaten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,057 in our German list, against #49,250 for "separates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "separaten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "separates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #480,578 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "separaten" and "separates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "separate vs separates". 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 #480,578 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