verdrängenvsverdrängtenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#13,721
“verdrängen” frequency rank
#47,812
“verdrängten” frequency rank
61533
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdrängen verdrängten
Definition jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verdrängt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verdrängen and verdrängten apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verdrängen
11 ch
verdrängten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verdrängen is [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən] while verdrängten is [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61533, 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]. verdrängten is at rank #47,812, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋtn̩].

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 61533, this pair ranks #746,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verdrängen vs verdrängten

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

"verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "verdrängten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

verdrängen#13,721
verdrängten#47,812

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verdrängen" and "verdrängten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verdrängen" is a verb and "verdrängten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verdrängen" or "verdrängten"?
"verdrängen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,721 in our German list, against #47,812 for "verdrängten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verdrängen vs verdrängten

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 “verdrängten”.
  • 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