textenvstötenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,224
“texten” frequency rank
#3,083
“töten” frequency rank
8307
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature texten töten
Definition Text verfassen, Text schreiben einem Menschen oder einem Tier gewaltsam das Leben nehmen

Where the eye mixes texten and töten

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

6 ch
texten
5 ch
töten

Why the eye confuses texten with töten

A purely visual mix-up. texten ([ˈtɛkstn̩]) and töten ([ˈtøːtn̩]) 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 8307, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

texten is recorded at frequency rank #5,224, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛkstn̩]. töten is at rank #3,083, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtøːtn̩].

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 8307, this pair ranks #1,984,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of texten vs töten

Shared letters: ent. Private to "texten": x. Private to "töten": ö.

"texten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "töten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • textenetxten · tetxen · texetn · textenn · textne · textten · texxten · ttexten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "texten" and "töten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɛkstn̩] versus [ˈtøːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "texten" or "töten"?
"töten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,083 in our German list, against #5,224 for "texten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "texten" and "töten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "texten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "töten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,984,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "texten" and "töten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "texten vs Texturen". 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 #1,984,809 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