Which to use
“enttäuschen” is a verb and “enttäuschte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,405
- “enttäuschen” frequency rank
- #37,493
- “enttäuschte” frequency rank
- 53898
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enttäuschen | enttäuschte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Hoffnung, einen Wunsch oder eine Erwartung nicht erfüllen oder zerstören | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs enttäuscht |
Where the eye mixes enttäuschen and enttäuschte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. enttäuschen (VCCCVVCCCVC) and enttäuschte (VCCCVVCCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses enttäuschen with enttäuschte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enttäuschen is [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩] while enttäuschte is [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enttäuschen is recorded at frequency rank #16,405, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩]. enttäuschte is at rank #37,493, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃtə].
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 53898, this pair ranks #1,040,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enttäuschen vs enttäuschte
Shared letters: cehnstuä. Private to "enttäuschen": -. Private to "enttäuschte": -.
"enttäuschen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCCVC · "enttäuschte" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "enttäuschen" for "enttäuschte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "enttäuschen" or "enttäuschte"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "enttäuschen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enttäuschte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,040,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enttäuschen" and "enttäuschte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enttäuschte vs enttäuschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,040,014 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.