Which to use
“erschüttert” is a verb and “erschütterte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,895
- “erschüttert” frequency rank
- #41,787
- “erschütterte” frequency rank
- 51682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erschüttert | erschütterte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erschüttern | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erschüttert |
Where the eye mixes erschüttert and erschütterte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erschüttert with erschütterte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erschüttert is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐt] while erschütterte is [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “erschüttert” sits inside “erschütterte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erschüttert is recorded at frequency rank #9,895, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃʏtɐt]. 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 51682, this pair ranks #1,126,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erschüttert vs erschütterte
Shared letters: cehrstü. Private to "erschüttert": -. Private to "erschütterte": -.
"erschüttert" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCC · "erschütterte" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erschüttert" and "erschütterte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erschüttert" vs "erschütterte" - 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 "erschüttert" 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 #1,126,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erschüttert" and "erschütterte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erschütternd vs erschütterte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,126,101 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.