Which to use
“verschärfte” and “verschärften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,562
- “verschärfte” frequency rank
- #35,522
- “verschärften” frequency rank
- 60084
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschärfte | verschärften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verschärft | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verschärft |
Where the eye mixes verschärfte and verschärften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between verschärfte and verschärften
A purely visual mix-up. verschärfte ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛʁftə]) and verschärften ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛʁftn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “verschärfte” sits inside “verschärften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschärfte is recorded at frequency rank #24,562, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛʁftə]. verschärften is at rank #35,522, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛʁftn̩].
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 60084, this pair ranks #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschärfte vs verschärften
Shared letters: cefhrstvä. Private to "verschärfte": -. Private to "verschärften": n.
"verschärfte" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCV · "verschärften" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschärfte" for "verschärften" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verschärfte" vs "verschärften" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verschärfte" and "verschärften" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschärfte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschärften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschärfte" and "verschärften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschafften vs verschärften". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #800,237 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.