vollendenvsvollendeteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#23,360
“vollenden” frequency rank
#17,457
“vollendete” frequency rank
40817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vollenden vollendete
Definition etwas gänzlich fertigstellen Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vollendet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vollenden and vollendete apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
vollenden
10 ch
vollendete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vollenden is [fɔlˈʔɛndn̩] while vollendete is [fɔlˈʔɛndətə]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vollenden is recorded at frequency rank #23,360, classified as averb, pronounced [fɔlˈʔɛndn̩]. vollendete is at rank #17,457, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɔlˈʔɛndətə].

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 40817, this pair ranks #1,497,421 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vollenden vs vollendete

Shared letters: delnov. Private to "vollenden": -. Private to "vollendete": t.

"vollenden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vollendete" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vollendenovllenden · vlolenden · volelnden · volenden · vollednen · vollendden · vollendenn · vollendne
  • vollendeteovllendete · vlolendete · volelndete · volendete · vollednete · vollenddete · vollendeet · vollendette

Frequency comparison

vollenden#23,360
vollendete#17,457

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vollenden" and "vollendete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vollenden" is a verb and "vollendete" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vollenden" or "vollendete"?
"vollendete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,457 in our German list, against #23,360 for "vollenden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vollenden vs vollendete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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