beschädigtevsbeschädigtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,154
“beschädigte” frequency rank
#23,443
“beschädigten” frequency rank
42597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschädigte beschädigten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs beschädigt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs beschädigt

Where the eye mixes beschädigte and beschädigten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschädigte runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCVCCV) against beschädigten's 12 (CVCCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
beschädigte
12 ch
beschädigten

Why the eye confuses beschädigte with beschädigten

A purely visual mix-up. beschädigte ([bəˈʃɛːdɪçtə]) and beschädigten ([bəˈʃɛːdɪçtn̩]) 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) - “beschädigte” sits inside “beschädigten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beschädigte is recorded at frequency rank #19,154, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛːdɪçtə]. beschädigten is at rank #23,443, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛːdɪçtn̩].

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 42597, this pair ranks #1,444,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of beschädigte vs beschädigten

Shared letters: bcdeghistä. Private to "beschädigte": -. Private to "beschädigten": n.

"beschädigte" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCV  ·  "beschädigten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschädigte" and "beschädigten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃɛːdɪçtə] versus [bəˈʃɛːdɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "beschädigte" vs "beschädigten" - which ranks higher?
"beschädigte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,154 in our German list, against #23,443 for "beschädigten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "beschädigte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beschädigten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,444,445 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beschädigte" and "beschädigten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschädigen vs beschädigten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,444,445 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