Which to use
“verhindern” and “verhinderte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,494
- “verhindern” frequency rank
- #14,975
- “verhinderte” frequency rank
- 16469
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhindern | verhinderte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewirken, dass etwas nicht geschieht oder dass jemand etwas nicht tun kann | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verhindern |
Where the eye mixes verhindern and verhinderte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verhindern runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against verhinderte's 11 (CVCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verhindern with verhinderte
A purely visual mix-up. verhindern ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]) and verhinderte ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐtə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verhindern is recorded at frequency rank #1,494, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]. verhinderte is at rank #14,975, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐtə].
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 16469, this pair ranks #1,935,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verhindern vs verhinderte
Shared letters: dehinrv. Private to "verhindern": -. Private to "verhinderte": t.
"verhindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "verhinderte" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verhindern ← evrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
- verhinderte ← evrhinderte · vehrinderte · verhhinderte · verhidnerte · verhindderte · verhinderet · verhinderrte · verhindertte
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verhindern" and "verhinderte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verhindern" or "verhinderte"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "verhindern" and "verhinderte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhindern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhinderte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,935,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhindern" and "verhinderte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhandelte vs verhinderte". 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 #1,935,590 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.