scheitertevsscheitertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,969
“scheiterte” frequency rank
#17,118
“scheiterten” frequency rank
24087
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scheiterte scheiterten
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs scheitern 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs scheitern

Where the eye mixes scheiterte and scheiterten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

10 ch
scheiterte
11 ch
scheiterten

Why the eye confuses scheiterte with scheiterten

A purely visual mix-up. scheiterte ([ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtə]) and scheiterten ([ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtn̩]) 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) - “scheiterte” sits inside “scheiterten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

scheiterte is recorded at frequency rank #6,969, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtə]. scheiterten is at rank #17,118, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtn̩].

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 24087, this pair ranks #1,852,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of scheiterte vs scheiterten

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "scheiterte": -. Private to "scheiterten": n.

"scheiterte" · 10 letters · shape CCCVVCVCCV  ·  "scheiterten" · 11 letters · shape CCCVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scheitertecsheiterte · sccheiterte · scehiterte · scheietrte · scheiteret · scheiterrte · scheitertte · scheitetre
  • scheitertencsheiterten · sccheiterten · scehiterten · scheietrten · scheiteretn · scheiterrten · scheitertenn · scheitertne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "scheiterte" and "scheiterten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtə] versus [ˈʃaɪ̯tɐtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "scheiterte" vs "scheiterten" - which ranks higher?
"scheiterte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,969 in our German list, against #17,118 for "scheiterten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "scheiterte" and "scheiterten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scheiterte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "scheiterten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,852,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scheiterte" and "scheiterten" 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 #1,852,534 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