verkehrtvsverkehrtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,872
“verkehrt” frequency rank
#35,520
“verkehrten” frequency rank
42392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkehrt verkehrten
Definition falsch, dem Richtigen widersprechend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verkehrt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkehrt and verkehrten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verkehrt
10 ch
verkehrten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verkehrt ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯t]) and verkehrten ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “verkehrt” sits inside “verkehrten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkehrt is recorded at frequency rank #6,872, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯t]. verkehrten is at rank #35,520, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩].

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 42392, this pair ranks #1,450,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verkehrt vs verkehrten

Shared letters: ehkrtv. Private to "verkehrt": -. Private to "verkehrten": n.

"verkehrt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "verkehrten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkehrtevrkehrt · vekrehrt · verekhrt · verkehhrt · verkehrrt · verkehrtt · verkehtr · verkerht
  • verkehrtenevrkehrten · vekrehrten · verekhrten · verkehhrten · verkehretn · verkehrrten · verkehrtenn · verkehrtne

Frequency comparison

verkehrt#6,872
verkehrten#35,520

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkehrt" and "verkehrten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯t] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verkehrt" or "verkehrten"?
"verkehrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,872 in our German list, against #35,520 for "verkehrten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkehrt vs verkehrten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verkehrt” 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