Which to use
“verpflichtet” is a verb and “verpflichteten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,184
- “verpflichtet” frequency rank
- #26,667
- “verpflichteten” frequency rank
- 28851
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verpflichtet | verpflichteten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verpflichten | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verpflichtet |
Where the eye mixes verpflichtet and verpflichteten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. verpflichtet runs 12 letters (CVCCCCVCCCVC) against verpflichteten's 14 (CVCCCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verpflichtet vs verpflichteten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verpflichtet is [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtət] while verpflichteten is [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtətn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “verpflichtet” sits inside “verpflichteten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verpflichtet is recorded at frequency rank #2,184, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtət]. verpflichteten is at rank #26,667, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtətn̩].
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 28851, this pair ranks #1,777,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verpflichtet vs verpflichteten
Shared letters: cefhilprtv. Private to "verpflichtet": -. Private to "verpflichteten": n.
"verpflichtet" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC · "verpflichteten" · 14 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verpflichtet ← evrpflichtet · veprflichtet · verfplichtet · verpfflichtet · verpfilchtet · verpflcihtet · verpflicchtet · verpflichett
- verpflichteten ← evrpflichteten · veprflichteten · verfplichteten · verpfflichteten · verpfilchteten · verpflcihteten · verpflicchteten · verpflichetten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verpflichtet" and "verpflichteten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verpflichtet" or "verpflichteten" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verpflichtet" and "verpflichteten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichtet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,777,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verpflichtet" and "verpflichteten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpflichtenden vs verpflichteten". 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 #1,777,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.