tätevstätigeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: täte is a verb, tätige is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“täte” is a verb and “tätige” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,434
“täte” frequency rank
#16,571
“tätige” frequency rank
34005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature täte tätige
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs tun Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tätig

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
täte
6 ch
tätige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: täte is [ˈtɛːtə] while tätige is [ˈtɛːtɪɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

täte is recorded at frequency rank #17,434, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛːtə]. tätige is at rank #16,571, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtɛːtɪɡə].

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 34005, this pair ranks #1,673,175 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of täte vs tätige

Shared letters: etä. Private to "täte": -. Private to "tätige": gi.

"täte" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "tätige" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

täte#17,434
tätige#16,571

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "täte" and "tätige" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "täte" is a verb and "tätige" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "täte" or "tätige"?
"tätige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,571 in our German list, against #17,434 for "täte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering täte vs tätige

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “täte”; for an adjective, it's “tätige”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “täte” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list