tanztvstanztenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,465
“tanzt” frequency rank
#27,513
“tanzten” frequency rank
36978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tanzt tanzten
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs tanzen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tanzen

Where the eye mixes tanzt and tanzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tanzt runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against tanzten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
tanzt
7 ch
tanzten

Look-alike desk: tanzt vs tanzten

A purely visual mix-up. tanzt ([tant͡st]) and tanzten ([ˈtant͡stn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “tanzt” sits inside “tanzten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tanzt is recorded at frequency rank #9,465, classified as averb, pronounced [tant͡st]. tanzten is at rank #27,513, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtant͡stn̩].

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 36978, this pair ranks #1,601,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tanzt vs tanzten

Shared letters: antz. Private to "tanzt": -. Private to "tanzten": e.

"tanzt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "tanzten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tanzt ← atnzt · tannzt · tantz · tanztt · tanzzt · taznt · tnazt · ttanzt
  • tanzten ← atnzten · tannzten · tantzen · tanzetn · tanztenn · tanztne · tanztten · tanzzten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tanzt" and "tanzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([tant͡st] versus [ˈtant͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "tanzt" or "tanzten" show up more?
"tanzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,465 in our German list, against #27,513 for "tanzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tanzt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tanzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,601,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tanzt" and "tanzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tanzes vs tanzten". 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 #1,601,889 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