Which to use
“umfasst” is a verb and “umfassten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,745
- “umfasst” frequency rank
- #48,564
- “umfassten” frequency rank
- 51309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umfasst | umfassten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs umfassen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs umfasst |
Where the eye mixes umfasst and umfassten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. umfasst runs 7 letters (VCCVCCC) against umfassten's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: umfasst vs umfassten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: umfasst is [ˌʊmˈfast] while umfassten is [ʊmˈfastn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “umfasst” sits inside “umfassten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umfasst is recorded at frequency rank #2,745, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊmˈfast]. umfassten is at rank #48,564, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʊmˈfastn̩].
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 51309, this pair ranks #1,140,389 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of umfasst vs umfassten
Shared letters: afmstu. Private to "umfasst": -. Private to "umfassten": en.
"umfasst" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC · "umfassten" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "umfasst" and "umfassten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "umfasst" or "umfassten"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "umfasst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umfassten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,140,389 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umfasst" and "umfassten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umfasste vs umfassten". 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 #1,140,389 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.