Which to use
“versuchen” is a verb and “versuchte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #788
- “versuchen” frequency rank
- #2,224
- “versuchte” frequency rank
- 3012
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | versuchen | versuchte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit ungewissem Erfolg etwas beginnen, anstreben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs versucht |
Where the eye mixes versuchen and versuchte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between versuchen and versuchte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: versuchen is [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxn̩] while versuchte is [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtə]. 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 3012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
versuchen is recorded at frequency rank #788, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxn̩]. versuchte is at rank #2,224, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtə].
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 3012, this pair ranks #2,001,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of versuchen vs versuchte
Shared letters: cehrsuv. Private to "versuchen": n. Private to "versuchte": t.
"versuchen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "versuchte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "versuchen" and "versuchte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "versuchen" or "versuchte"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "versuchen" and "versuchte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "versuchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versuchte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "versuchen" and "versuchte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verachte vs versuchte". 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 #2,001,141 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.