verbreitenvsverbreiteteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,838
“verbreiten” frequency rank
#8,474
“verbreitete” frequency rank
13312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbreiten verbreitete
Definition in einen großen Umkreis gelangen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verbreitet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbreiten and verbreitete apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verbreiten
11 ch
verbreitete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

verbreiten and verbreitete form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbreiten is recorded at frequency rank #4,838, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]. verbreitete is at rank #8,474, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tətə].

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 13312, this pair ranks #1,958,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

verbreiten#4,838
verbreitete#8,474

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbreiten" and "verbreitete" be used interchangeably?
No, "verbreiten" and "verbreitete" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering verbreiten vs verbreitete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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