teilenvstestenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,023
“teilen” frequency rank
#3,491
“testen” frequency rank
4514
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teilen testen
Definition ein Ganzes in Bestandteile zerlegen durch einen oder mehrere Versuche überprüfen, ob etwas (beispielsweise eine Methode, ein Prozess, ein technisches Gerät) funktioniert/den Anforderungen entspricht oder nicht

Where the eye mixes teilen and testen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
teilen
6 ch
testen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. teilen ([ˈtaɪ̯lən]) and testen ([ˈtɛstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teilen is recorded at frequency rank #1,023, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lən]. testen is at rank #3,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛstn̩].

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 4514, this pair ranks #1,997,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of teilen vs testen

Shared letters: ent. Private to "teilen": il. Private to "testen": s.

"teilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "testen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teilenetilen · teieln · teilenn · teillen · teilne · telien · tielen · tteilen
  • testenetsten · tesetn · tessten · testenn · testne · testten · tetsen · tseten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teilen" and "testen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaɪ̯lən] versus [ˈtɛstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "teilen" or "testen"?
"teilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,023 in our German list, against #3,491 for "testen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "teilen" and "testen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "teilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "testen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,997,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "teilen" and "testen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "testen vs testing". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list