Which to use
“verteidigen” is a verb and “verteidigten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,625
- “verteidigen” frequency rank
- #39,111
- “verteidigten” frequency rank
- 42736
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verteidigen | verteidigten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Angriff abwehren | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verteidigt |
Where the eye mixes verteidigen and verteidigten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verteidigen runs 11 letters (CVCCVVCVCVC) against verteidigten's 12 (CVCCVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verteidigen and verteidigten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verteidigen is [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪɡn̩] while verteidigten is [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪçtn̩]. 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 42736, 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]. verteidigten is at rank #39,111, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtaɪ̯dɪçtn̩].
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 42736, this pair ranks #1,440,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verteidigen vs verteidigten
Shared letters: deginrtv. Private to "verteidigen": -. Private to "verteidigten": -.
"verteidigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC · "verteidigten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verteidigen ← evrteidigen · veretidigen · verrteidigen · vertediigen · verteiddigen · verteidgien · verteidiegn · verteidigenn
- verteidigten ← evrteidigten · veretidigten · verrteidigten · vertediigten · verteiddigten · verteidgiten · verteidigetn · verteidiggten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verteidigen" and "verteidigten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verteidigen" or "verteidigten" show up more?
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 "verteidigten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,440,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verteidigen" and "verteidigten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verteidige vs verteidigten". 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 #1,440,139 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.