Which to use
“verursachen” is a verb and “verursachte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,253
- “verursachen” frequency rank
- #10,964
- “verursachte” frequency rank
- 17217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verursachen | verursachte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auslösen, der Grund für etwas sein, den Ursprung für etwas bilden, für etwas verantwortlich sein | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verursacht |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verursachen and verursachte apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
verursachen and verursachte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verursachen is recorded at frequency rank #6,253, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxn̩]. verursachte is at rank #10,964, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxtə].
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 17217, this pair ranks #1,929,336 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verursachen" and "verursachte" be used interchangeably?
Remembering verursachen vs verursachte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verursachen”; for an adjective, it's “verursachte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verursachen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable