verteidigenvsverteidigtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,625
“verteidigen” frequency rank
#5,230
“verteidigt” frequency rank
8855
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verteidigen verteidigt
Definition einen Angriff abwehren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verteidigen

Where the eye mixes verteidigen and verteidigt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verteidigen runs 11 letters (CVCCVVCVCVC) against verteidigt's 10 (CVCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
verteidigen
10 ch
verteidigt

Visual trap between verteidigen and verteidigt

A purely visual mix-up. verteidigen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪɡn̩]) and verteidigt ([fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪçt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verteidigen is recorded at frequency rank #3,625, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪɡn̩]. verteidigt is at rank #5,230, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪçt].

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 8855, this pair ranks #1,982,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verteidigen vs verteidigt

Shared letters: degirtv. Private to "verteidigen": n. Private to "verteidigt": -.

"verteidigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC  ·  "verteidigt" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verteidigen ← evrteidigen · veretidigen · verrteidigen · vertediigen · verteiddigen · verteidgien · verteidiegn · verteidigenn
  • verteidigt ← evrteidigt · veretidigt · verrteidigt · vertediigt · verteiddigt · verteidgit · verteidiggt · verteidigtt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verteidigen" and "verteidigt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verteidigen" vs "verteidigt" - which ranks higher?
"verteidigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,625 in our German list, against #5,230 for "verteidigt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verteidigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verteidigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,982,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verteidigen" and "verteidigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verteidigen vs Verteidigers". 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 #1,982,510 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