Which to use
“wollte” and “wollten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #298
- “wollte” frequency rank
- #1,048
- “wollten” frequency rank
- 1346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wollte | wollten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wollen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs wollen |
Where the eye mixes wollte and wollten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. wollte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against wollten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wollte with wollten
A purely visual mix-up. wollte ([ˈvɔltə]) and wollten ([ˈvɔltn̩]) 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) - “wollte” sits inside “wollten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1346, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wollte is recorded at frequency rank #298, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvɔltə]. wollten is at rank #1,048, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɔltn̩].
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 1346, this pair ranks #2,004,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wollte vs wollten
Shared letters: elotw. Private to "wollte": -. Private to "wollten": n.
"wollte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "wollten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wollte" and "wollten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wollte" or "wollten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wollte" and "wollten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wollte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wollten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wollte" and "wollten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilte vs wollte". 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 #2,004,507 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.