Which to use
“belasten” is a verb and “belastet” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,155
- “belasten” frequency rank
- #6,160
- “belastet” frequency rank
- 15315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | belasten | belastet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewirken, dass etwas eine störende oder schädliche Wirkung auf etwas hat | schädliche Stoffe aufweisend, verunreinigt (zum Beispiel mit Chemikalien, Pestiziden, Herbiziden, …) |
Where the eye mixes belasten and belastet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. belasten and belastet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses belasten with belastet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: belasten is [bəˈlastn̩] while belastet is [bəˈlastət]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “belasten” becomes t in “belastet”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
belasten is recorded at frequency rank #9,155, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈlastn̩]. belastet is at rank #6,160, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈlastət].
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 15315, this pair ranks #1,944,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of belasten vs belastet
Shared letters: abelst. Private to "belasten": n. Private to "belastet": -.
"belasten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "belastet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "belasten" and "belastet" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "belasten" vs "belastet" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "belasten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "belastet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,944,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "belasten" and "belastet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bebauten vs belasten". 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 #1,944,822 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.