Which to use
“verpflichten” is a verb and “verpflichtete” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,390
- “verpflichten” frequency rank
- #20,772
- “verpflichtete” frequency rank
- 31162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verpflichten | verpflichtete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in die Pflicht nehmen, etwas zu tun | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verpflichtet |
Where the eye mixes verpflichten and verpflichtete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verpflichten runs 12 letters (CVCCCCVCCCVC) against verpflichtete's 13 (CVCCCCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verpflichten vs verpflichtete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verpflichten is [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩] while verpflichtete is [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtətə]. 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 31162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verpflichten is recorded at frequency rank #10,390, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩]. verpflichtete is at rank #20,772, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtətə].
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 31162, this pair ranks #1,733,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verpflichten vs verpflichtete
Shared letters: cefhilprtv. Private to "verpflichten": n. Private to "verpflichtete": -.
"verpflichten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC · "verpflichtete" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verpflichten ← evrpflichten · veprflichten · verfplichten · verpfflichten · verpfilchten · verpflcihten · verpflicchten · verpflichetn
- verpflichtete ← evrpflichtete · veprflichtete · verfplichtete · verpfflichtete · verpfilchtete · verpflcihtete · verpflicchtete · verpflichette
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verpflichten" and "verpflichtete" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verpflichten" or "verpflichtete"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verpflichten" and "verpflichtete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichtete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,733,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verpflichten" and "verpflichtete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpflichtende vs verpflichtete". 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 #1,733,591 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.