sortevsSortenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,471
“sorte” frequency rank
#6,856
“Sorten” frequency rank
13327
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sorte Sorten
Definition Schicksal n Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sorte

Where the eye mixes sorte and Sorten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
sorte
6 ch
Sorten

Look-alike desk: sorte vs Sorten

A purely visual mix-up. sorte ([ˈsɔrte]) and Sorten ([ˈzɔʁtn̩]) 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) - “sorte” sits inside “Sorten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13327, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sorte is recorded at frequency rank #6,471, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsɔrte]. Sorten is at rank #6,856, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɔʁtn̩].

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 13327, this pair ranks #1,958,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sorte vs Sorten

Shared letters: eorst. Private to "sorte": -. Private to "Sorten": n.

"sorte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Sorten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sorteosrte · soret · sorrte · sortte · sotre · srote · ssorte
  • Sortenosrten · soretn · sorrten · sortenn · sortne · sortten · sotren · sroten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sorte" and "Sorten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsɔrte] versus [ˈzɔʁtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sorte" vs "Sorten" - which ranks higher?
"sorte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,471 in our German list, against #6,856 for "Sorten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "sorte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sorten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sorte" and "Sorten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sorten vs Stuten". 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 #1,958,691 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