wandertevswandertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,433
“wanderte” frequency rank
#23,370
“wanderten” frequency rank
41803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wanderte wanderten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wandern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wandern

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
wanderte
9 ch
wanderten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wanderte ([ˈvandɐtə]) and wanderten ([ˈvandɐtn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “wanderte” sits inside “wanderten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wanderte is recorded at frequency rank #18,433, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvandɐtə]. wanderten is at rank #23,370, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvandɐtn̩].

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 41803, this pair ranks #1,468,606 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wanderte vs wanderten

Shared letters: adenrtw. Private to "wanderte": -. Private to "wanderten": -.

"wanderte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "wanderten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wanderteawnderte · wadnerte · wandderte · wanderet · wanderrte · wandertte · wandetre · wandrete
  • wandertenawnderten · wadnerten · wandderten · wanderetn · wanderrten · wandertenn · wandertne · wandertten

Frequency comparison

wanderte#18,433
wanderten#23,370

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wanderte" and "wanderten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvandɐtə] versus [ˈvandɐtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wanderte" or "wanderten"?
"wanderte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,433 in our German list, against #23,370 for "wanderten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wanderte vs wanderten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wanderte” 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