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 eye mixes verursachen and verursachte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verursachen (CVCVCCVCCVC) and verursachte (CVCVCCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verursachen with verursachte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verursachen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxn̩] while verursachte is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxtə]. 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 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.
Orthographic DNA of verursachen vs verursachte
Shared letters: acehrsuv. Private to "verursachen": n. Private to "verursachte": t.
"verursachen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC · "verursachte" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verursachen ← evrursachen · verrursachen · verrusachen · veruraschen · verurrsachen · verursacchen · verursacehn · verursachenn
- verursachte ← evrursachte · verrursachte · verrusachte · veruraschte · verurrsachte · verursacchte · verursachet · verursachhte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verursachen" and "verursachte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verursachen" vs "verursachte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verursachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verursachte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,929,336 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verursachen" and "verursachte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verursacher vs verursachte". 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 #1,929,336 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.