Which to use
“versagt” is a verb and “versagte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,896
- “versagt” frequency rank
- #34,442
- “versagte” frequency rank
- 40338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | versagt | versagte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs versagen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs versagt |
Where the eye mixes versagt and versagte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. versagt runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against versagte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between versagt and versagte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: versagt is [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːkt] while versagte is [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “versagt” sits inside “versagte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
versagt is recorded at frequency rank #5,896, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːkt]. versagte is at rank #34,442, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːktə].
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 40338, this pair ranks #1,511,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of versagt vs versagte
Shared letters: aegrstv. Private to "versagt": -. Private to "versagte": -.
"versagt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "versagte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "versagt" and "versagte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "versagt" or "versagte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "versagt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versagte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,511,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "versagt" and "versagte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "versagte vs versäumte". 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 #1,511,356 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.