Which to use
“untersuchen” is a verb and “untersuchte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,393
- “untersuchen” frequency rank
- #13,258
- “untersuchte” frequency rank
- 17651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | untersuchen | untersuchte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas analysieren oder erforschen, sich etwas sehr genau anschauen, um es zu verstehen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs untersucht |
Where the eye mixes untersuchen and untersuchte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. untersuchen (VCCVCCVCCVC) and untersuchte (VCCVCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: untersuchen vs untersuchte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: untersuchen is [ˌʊntɐˈzuːxn̩] while untersuchte is [ˌʊntɐˈzuːxtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
untersuchen is recorded at frequency rank #4,393, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzuːxn̩]. untersuchte is at rank #13,258, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzuːxtə].
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 17651, this pair ranks #1,925,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of untersuchen vs untersuchte
Shared letters: cehnrstu. Private to "untersuchen": -. Private to "untersuchte": -.
"untersuchen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC · "untersuchte" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- untersuchen ← nutersuchen · unetrsuchen · unntersuchen · unterrsuchen · unterscuhen · unterssuchen · untersucchen · untersucehn
- untersuchte ← nutersuchte · unetrsuchte · unntersuchte · unterrsuchte · unterscuhte · unterssuchte · untersucchte · untersuchet
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "untersuchen" for "untersuchte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "untersuchen" or "untersuchte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "untersuchen" and "untersuchte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "untersuchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "untersuchte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,925,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "untersuchen" and "untersuchte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterrichte vs untersuchte". 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 #1,925,500 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.