WettbewerbevsWettbewerberConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,327
“Wettbewerbe” frequency rank
#26,692
“Wettbewerber” frequency rank
43019
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wettbewerbe Wettbewerber
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Wettbewerb Person oder Gruppe, die Teilnehmer eines Wettbewerbs/Wettkampfes ist

Where the eye mixes Wettbewerbe and Wettbewerber

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Wettbewerbe runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCVCCV) against Wettbewerber's 12 (CVCCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Wettbewerbe
12 ch
Wettbewerber

Why the eye confuses Wettbewerbe with Wettbewerber

A purely visual mix-up. Wettbewerbe ([ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbə]) and Wettbewerber ([ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbɐ]) 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) - “Wettbewerbe” sits inside “Wettbewerber”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wettbewerbe is recorded at frequency rank #16,327, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbə]. Wettbewerber is at rank #26,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbɐ].

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 43019, this pair ranks #1,431,121 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Wettbewerbe vs Wettbewerber

Shared letters: bertw. Private to "Wettbewerbe": -. Private to "Wettbewerber": -.

"Wettbewerbe" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCV  ·  "Wettbewerber" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wettbewerbe ← ewttbewerbe · wetbewerbe · wetbtewerbe · wettbbewerbe · wettbeewrbe · wettbewebre · wettbewerbbe · wettbewereb
  • Wettbewerber ← ewttbewerber · wetbewerber · wetbtewerber · wettbbewerber · wettbeewrber · wettbewebrer · wettbewerbber · wettbewerberr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Wettbewerbe" and "Wettbewerber" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbə] versus [ˈvɛtbəˌvɛʁbɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Wettbewerbe" vs "Wettbewerber" - which ranks higher?
"Wettbewerbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,327 in our German list, against #26,692 for "Wettbewerber". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Wettbewerbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Wettbewerber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,431,121 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Wettbewerbe" and "Wettbewerber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wettbewerben vs Wettbewerber". 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 #1,431,121 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