Which to use
“sorgen” and “sorgte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #737
- “sorgen” frequency rank
- #5,882
- “sorgte” frequency rank
- 6619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sorgen | sorgte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich ernsthaft Gedanken machen zu etwas/jemandem, etwas befürchten, was jemanden betrifft | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sorgen |
Where the eye mixes sorgen and sorgte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sorgen with sorgte
A purely visual mix-up. sorgen ([ˈzɔʁɡn̩]) and sorgte ([ˈzɔʁktə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sorgen is recorded at frequency rank #737, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔʁɡn̩]. sorgte is at rank #5,882, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔʁktə].
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 6619, this pair ranks #1,991,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sorgen vs sorgte
Shared letters: egors. Private to "sorgen": n. Private to "sorgte": t.
"sorgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sorgte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sorgen" and "sorgte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sorgen" or "sorgte" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sorgen" and "sorgte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sorgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sorgte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sorgen" and "sorgte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Särge vs sorgte". 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 #1,991,029 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.