berührtevsberührtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,848
“berührte” frequency rank
#47,258
“berührten” frequency rank
67106
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berührte berührten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs berührt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs berührt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set berührte and berührten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
berührte
9 ch
berührten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. berührte ([bəˈʁyːɐ̯tə]) and berührten ([bəˈʁyːɐ̯tn̩]) 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) - “berührte” sits inside “berührten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berührte is recorded at frequency rank #19,848, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁyːɐ̯tə]. berührten is at rank #47,258, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁyːɐ̯tn̩].

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 67106, this pair ranks #551,087 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of berührte vs berührten

Shared letters: behrtü. Private to "berührte": -. Private to "berührten": n.

"berührte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "berührten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

berührte#19,848
berührten#47,258

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "berührte" and "berührten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁyːɐ̯tə] versus [bəˈʁyːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "berührte" or "berührten"?
"berührte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,848 in our German list, against #47,258 for "berührten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering berührte vs berührten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “berührte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list