tagtevstastenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,331
“tagte” frequency rank
#13,959
“tasten” frequency rank
47290
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tagte tasten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tagen versuchen, die Gegenstände seiner Umgebung durch Berühren wahrzunehmen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tagte and tasten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
tagte
6 ch
tasten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tagte ([ˈtaːktə]) and tasten ([ˈtastn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tagte is recorded at frequency rank #33,331, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaːktə]. tasten is at rank #13,959, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtastn̩].

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 47290, this pair ranks #1,289,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tagte vs tasten

Shared letters: aet. Private to "tagte": g. Private to "tasten": ns.

"tagte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "tasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tagteatgte · taget · taggte · tagtte · tatge · tgate · ttagte
  • tastenatsten · tasetn · tassten · tastenn · tastne · tastten · tatsen · tsaten

Frequency comparison

tagte#33,331
tasten#13,959

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tagte" and "tasten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaːktə] versus [ˈtastn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tagte" or "tasten"?
"tasten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,959 in our German list, against #33,331 for "tagte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tagte vs tasten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tagte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list