tanztenvstastenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#27,513
“tanzten” frequency rank
#13,959
“tasten” frequency rank
41472
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tanzten tasten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tanzen versuchen, die Gegenstände seiner Umgebung durch Berühren wahrzunehmen

Where the eye mixes tanzten and tasten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tanzten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against tasten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
tanzten
6 ch
tasten

Visual trap between tanzten and tasten

A purely visual mix-up. tanzten ([ˈtant͡stn̩]) 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 41472, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tanzten is recorded at frequency rank #27,513, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtant͡stn̩]. 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 41472, this pair ranks #1,478,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tanzten vs tasten

Shared letters: aent. Private to "tanzten": z. Private to "tasten": s.

"tanzten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "tasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tanzten ← atnzten · tannzten · tantzen · tanzetn · tanztenn · tanztne · tanztten · tanzzten
  • tasten ← atsten · tasetn · tassten · tastenn · tastne · tastten · tatsen · tsaten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tanzten" and "tasten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtant͡stn̩] versus [ˈtastn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tanzten" vs "tasten" - which ranks higher?
"tasten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,959 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tanzten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tasten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,478,338 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tanzten" and "tasten" 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 #1,478,338 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