verdächtigvsverdächtigeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,388
“verdächtig” frequency rank
#9,110
“verdächtige” frequency rank
19498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdächtig verdächtige
Definition in einem Verdacht stehend, das heißt unter dem Glauben oder Vermutung, dass eine Sache/Person die Ursache eines Ereignisses ist Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verdächtig

Where the eye mixes verdächtig and verdächtige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verdächtig runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCCVC) against verdächtige's 11 (CVCCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
verdächtig
11 ch
verdächtige

Visual trap between verdächtig and verdächtige

A purely visual mix-up. verdächtig ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪç]) and verdächtige ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪɡə]) 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) - “verdächtig” sits inside “verdächtige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdächtig is recorded at frequency rank #10,388, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪç]. verdächtige is at rank #9,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪɡə].

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 19498, this pair ranks #1,907,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verdächtig vs verdächtige

Shared letters: cdeghirtvä. Private to "verdächtig": -. Private to "verdächtige": -.

"verdächtig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC  ·  "verdächtige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verdächtig" and "verdächtige" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪç] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈdɛçtɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verdächtig" vs "verdächtige" - which ranks higher?
"verdächtige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,110 in our German list, against #10,388 for "verdächtig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdächtig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verdächtige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,907,720 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdächtig" and "verdächtige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdächtig vs verdächtiges". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,907,720 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