Which to use
“verhängen” is a verb and “verhängten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,545
- “verhängen” frequency rank
- #42,912
- “verhängten” frequency rank
- 70457
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhängen | verhängten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit einem Tuch oder dergleichen zuhängen, verbergen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verhängt |
Where the eye mixes verhängen and verhängten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verhängen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verhängten's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verhängen vs verhängten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verhängen is [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋən] while verhängten is [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋtn̩]. 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 70457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verhängen is recorded at frequency rank #27,545, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋən]. verhängten is at rank #42,912, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋtn̩].
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 70457, this pair ranks #445,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of verhängen vs verhängten
Shared letters: eghnrvä. Private to "verhängen": -. Private to "verhängten": t.
"verhängen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verhängten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verhängen" for "verhängten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verhängen" or "verhängten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhängten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #445,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhängen" and "verhängten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdrängten vs verhängten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #445,775 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.