ÜbersetzervsübersetztenTell them apart

Quick tell: Übersetzer is a noun, übersetzten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Übersetzer” is a noun and “übersetzten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,884
“Übersetzer” frequency rank
#35,589
“übersetzten” frequency rank
42473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Übersetzer übersetzten
Definition jemand, der Texte schriftlich von der einen in die andere Sprache überträgt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übersetzt

Where the eye mixes Übersetzer and übersetzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Übersetzer runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCCVC) against übersetzten's 11 (VCVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Übersetzer
11 ch
übersetzten

Why the eye confuses Übersetzer with übersetzten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Übersetzer is [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡sɐ] while übersetzten is [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡stn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Übersetzer is recorded at frequency rank #6,884, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡sɐ]. übersetzten is at rank #35,589, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡stn̩].

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 42473, this pair ranks #1,448,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Übersetzer vs übersetzten

Shared letters: berstzü. Private to "Übersetzer": -. Private to "übersetzten": n.

"Übersetzer" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC  ·  "übersetzten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Übersetzer" and "übersetzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Übersetzer" is a noun and "übersetzten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Übersetzer" or "übersetzten" show up more?
"Übersetzer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,884 in our German list, against #35,589 for "übersetzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Übersetzer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übersetzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,448,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Übersetzer" and "übersetzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übersetzte vs übersetzten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,448,210 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