Which to use
“scheitern” and “scheiterte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,229
- “scheitern” frequency rank
- #6,969
- “scheiterte” frequency rank
- 11198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scheitern | scheiterte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nicht erreichen, das man erreichen will | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs scheitern |
Where the eye mixes scheitern and scheiterte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scheitern and scheiterte
A purely visual mix-up. scheitern ([ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn]) and scheiterte ([ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scheitern is recorded at frequency rank #4,229, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐn]. scheiterte is at rank #6,969, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtə].
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 11198, this pair ranks #1,971,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scheitern vs scheiterte
Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "scheitern": n. Private to "scheiterte": -.
"scheitern" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCVCC · "scheiterte" · 10 letters · shape CCCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- scheitern ← csheitern · sccheitern · scehitern · scheietrn · scheitenr · scheiternn · scheiterrn · scheitren
- scheiterte ← csheiterte · sccheiterte · scehiterte · scheietrte · scheiteret · scheiterrte · scheitertte · scheitetre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scheitern" for "scheiterte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scheitern" or "scheiterte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "scheitern" and "scheiterte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "scheitern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scheiterte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scheitern" and "scheiterte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Scheiterns vs scheiterte". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,971,152 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.