versuchtevsversuchtenTell them apart

Which to use

“versuchte” and “versuchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,224
“versuchte” frequency rank
#5,440
“versuchten” frequency rank
7664
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versuchte versuchten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs versucht Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs versucht

Where the eye mixes versuchte and versuchten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. versuchte runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCCV) against versuchten's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
versuchte
10 ch
versuchten

Look-alike desk: versuchte vs versuchten

A purely visual mix-up. versuchte ([fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtə]) and versuchten ([fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtn̩]) 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) - “versuchte” sits inside “versuchten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versuchte is recorded at frequency rank #2,224, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtə]. versuchten is at rank #5,440, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtn̩].

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 7664, this pair ranks #1,987,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of versuchte vs versuchten

Shared letters: cehrstuv. Private to "versuchte": -. Private to "versuchten": n.

"versuchte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "versuchten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versuchte ← evrsuchte · verrsuchte · verscuhte · verssuchte · versucchte · versuchet · versuchhte · versuchtte
  • versuchten ← evrsuchten · verrsuchten · verscuhten · verssuchten · versucchten · versuchetn · versuchhten · versuchtenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "versuchte" for "versuchten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "versuchte" vs "versuchten" - which ranks higher?
"versuchte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,224 in our German list, against #5,440 for "versuchten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "versuchte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versuchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versuchte" and "versuchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfluchten vs versuchten". 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 #1,987,363 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list