Which to use
“erschütternd” is a verb and “erschütterte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,918
- “erschütternd” frequency rank
- #41,787
- “erschütterte” frequency rank
- 81705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschütternd | erschütterte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Präsens des Verbs erschüttern | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erschüttert |
Where the eye mixes erschütternd and erschütterte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erschütternd (VCCCCVCCVCCC) and erschütterte (VCCCCVCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: erschütternd vs erschütterte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erschütternd is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐnt] while erschütterte is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐtə]. 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 81705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erschütternd is recorded at frequency rank #39,918, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐnt]. erschütterte is at rank #41,787, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐtə].
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 81705, this pair ranks #170,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erschütternd vs erschütterte
Shared letters: cehrstü. Private to "erschütternd": dn. Private to "erschütterte": -.
"erschütternd" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCCC · "erschütterte" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erschütternd" and "erschütterte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erschütternd" or "erschütterte"?
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 "erschütternd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erschütterte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschütternd" and "erschütterte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschütternd vs Erschütterung". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #170,705 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.