sorgtvssorgtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,218
“sorgt” frequency rank
#12,174
“sorgten” frequency rank
14392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sorgt sorgten
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sorgen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sorgen

Where the eye mixes sorgt and sorgten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sorgt runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against sorgten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
sorgt
7 ch
sorgten

Visual trap between sorgt and sorgten

A purely visual mix-up. sorgt ([zɔʁkt]) and sorgten ([ˈzɔʁktn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “sorgt” sits inside “sorgten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sorgt is recorded at frequency rank #2,218, classified as averb, pronounced [zɔʁkt]. sorgten is at rank #12,174, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔʁktn̩].

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 14392, this pair ranks #1,951,518 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sorgt vs sorgten

Shared letters: gorst. Private to "sorgt": -. Private to "sorgten": en.

"sorgt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "sorgten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sorgt ← osrgt · sogrt · sorggt · sorgtt · sorrgt · sortg · srogt · ssorgt
  • sorgten ← osrgten · sogrten · sorgetn · sorggten · sorgtenn · sorgtne · sorgtten · sorrgten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sorgt" and "sorgten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([zɔʁkt] versus [ˈzɔʁktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sorgt" or "sorgten"?
"sorgt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,218 in our German list, against #12,174 for "sorgten". 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 "sorgt" and "sorgten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sorgt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sorgten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,951,518 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sorgt" and "sorgten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sonaten vs sorgten". 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 #1,951,518 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