Which to use
“verschwenden” is a verb and “verschwendete” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,820
- “verschwenden” frequency rank
- #47,827
- “verschwendete” frequency rank
- 60647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschwenden | verschwendete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unnötig viele Mittel, Ressourcen einsetzen; etwas erfolglos, sinnlos, planlos, unrationell aufwenden; vergeuden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verschwendet |
Where the eye mixes verschwenden and verschwendete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verschwenden runs 12 letters (CVCCCCCVCCVC) against verschwendete's 13 (CVCCCCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verschwenden with verschwendete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschwenden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndn̩] while verschwendete is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndətə]. 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 60647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschwenden is recorded at frequency rank #12,820, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndn̩]. verschwendete is at rank #47,827, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndətə].
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 60647, this pair ranks #779,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschwenden vs verschwendete
Shared letters: cdehnrsvw. Private to "verschwenden": -. Private to "verschwendete": t.
"verschwenden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC · "verschwendete" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschwenden ← evrschwenden · vercshwenden · verrschwenden · verscchwenden · verschewnden · verschhwenden · verschwednen · verschwendden
- verschwendete ← evrschwendete · vercshwendete · verrschwendete · verscchwendete · verschewndete · verschhwendete · verschwednete · verschwenddete
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verschwenden" and "verschwendete" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verschwenden" or "verschwendete"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verschwenden" and "verschwendete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwendete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #779,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschwenden" and "verschwendete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwende vs verschwendete". 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 #779,159 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.