Which to use
“verstärken” is a verb and “verstärkte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,480
- “verstärken” frequency rank
- #10,198
- “verstärkte” frequency rank
- 18678
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verstärken | verstärkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stärker, belastbarer machen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verstärkt |
Where the eye mixes verstärken and verstärkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verstärken (CVCCCVCCVC) and verstärkte (CVCCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between verstärken and verstärkte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verstärken is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛʁkn̩] while verstärkte is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛʁktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verstärken is recorded at frequency rank #8,480, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛʁkn̩]. verstärkte is at rank #10,198, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃtɛʁktə].
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 18678, this pair ranks #1,915,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verstärken vs verstärkte
Shared letters: ekrstvä. Private to "verstärken": n. Private to "verstärkte": -.
"verstärken" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "verstärkte" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verstärken" for "verstärkte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verstärken" or "verstärkte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "verstärken" and "verstärkte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verstärken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verstärkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,915,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verstärken" and "verstärkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verstärken vs verstauen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,915,956 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.