He attempted to do something = He tried to do something. He was tempted to do something. = some outside force was persuading him to do something. Perhaps a little voice in his head, or the possibility of gaining money,etc.

I'm really tired now, but um, these words are completely different. "To tempt" is what, in the Book of Genesis, the serpent did to Adam with the apple. "To attempt" means to try. I think in German it is "versuchen" or "verscheiden". Here's two other examples of "to tempt": "Sometimes when my cat gets loose I try to catch him by tempting him with food so that he lets his guard down, but he will catch on to (learn about) this." "I'm trying to lose weight but the deserts on that tray are really tempting (this is the word in adjective form)."

to tempt=to persuade/convince(in a bad way) attempt=to try