TatenvstätigenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Taten is a noun, tätigen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Taten” is a noun and “tätigen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,858
“Taten” frequency rank
#8,799
“tätigen” frequency rank
11657
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Taten tätigen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Tat etwas in die Tat umsetzen, eine bestimmte Handlung vollziehen

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Taten
7 ch
tätigen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Taten is [ˈtaːtn̩] while tätigen is [ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11657, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Taten is recorded at frequency rank #2,858, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaːtn̩]. tätigen is at rank #8,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩].

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 11657, this pair ranks #1,968,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Taten vs tätigen

Shared letters: ent. Private to "Taten": a. Private to "tätigen": giä.

"Taten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "tätigen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tatenatten · taetn · tatenn · tatne · tatten · ttaen · ttaten

Frequency comparison

Taten#2,858
tätigen#8,799

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Taten" and "tätigen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Taten" is a noun and "tätigen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Taten" or "tätigen"?
"Taten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,858 in our German list, against #8,799 for "tätigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Taten vs tätigen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Taten”; for a verb, it's “tätigen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Taten” 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