würdigtvswürdigteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,256
“würdigt” frequency rank
#28,027
“würdigte” frequency rank
54283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature würdigt würdigte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs würdigen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs würdigen

Where the eye mixes würdigt and würdigte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. würdigt runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against würdigte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
würdigt
8 ch
würdigte

Why the eye confuses würdigt with würdigte

A purely visual mix-up. würdigt ([ˈvʏʁdɪçt]) and würdigte ([ˈvʏʁdɪçtə]) 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) - “würdigt” sits inside “würdigte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

würdigt is recorded at frequency rank #26,256, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏʁdɪçt]. würdigte is at rank #28,027, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvʏʁdɪçtə].

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 54283, this pair ranks #1,024,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of würdigt vs würdigte

Shared letters: dgirtwü. Private to "würdigt": -. Private to "würdigte": e.

"würdigt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "würdigte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "würdigt" and "würdigte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvʏʁdɪçt] versus [ˈvʏʁdɪçtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "würdigt" or "würdigte" show up more?
"würdigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,256 in our German list, against #28,027 for "würdigte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "würdigt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "würdigte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,024,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "würdigt" and "würdigte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "würdigt vs würzig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,024,843 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