verdrängenvsverdrängteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verdrängen is a verb, verdrängte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verdrängen” is a verb and “verdrängte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,721
“verdrängen” frequency rank
#31,337
“verdrängte” frequency rank
45058
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdrängen verdrängte
Definition jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verdrängt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verdrängen and verdrängte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verdrängen
10 ch
verdrängte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verdrängen is [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən] while verdrängte is [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋtə]. 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 45058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdrängen is recorded at frequency rank #13,721, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən]. verdrängte is at rank #31,337, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋtə].

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 45058, this pair ranks #1,365,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verdrängen vs verdrängte

Shared letters: degnrvä. Private to "verdrängen": -. Private to "verdrängte": t.

"verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "verdrängte" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

verdrängen#13,721
verdrängte#31,337

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verdrängen" and "verdrängte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verdrängen" is a verb and "verdrängte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verdrängen" or "verdrängte"?
"verdrängen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,721 in our German list, against #31,337 for "verdrängte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verdrängen vs verdrängte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verdrängen”; for an adjective, it's “verdrängte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verdrängen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list