Which to use
“verursachen” is a verb and “verursachten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,253
- “verursachen” frequency rank
- #14,981
- “verursachten” frequency rank
- 21234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verursachen | verursachten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auslösen, der Grund für etwas sein, den Ursprung für etwas bilden, für etwas verantwortlich sein | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verursacht |
Where the eye mixes verursachen and verursachten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verursachen runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVCCVC) against verursachten's 12 (CVCVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verursachen with verursachten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verursachen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxn̩] while verursachten is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxtn̩]. 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 21234, 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]. verursachten is at rank #14,981, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔuːɐ̯ˌzaxtn̩].
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 21234, this pair ranks #1,888,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verursachen vs verursachten
Shared letters: acehnrsuv. Private to "verursachen": -. Private to "verursachten": t.
"verursachen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC · "verursachten" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verursachen ← evrursachen · verrursachen · verrusachen · veruraschen · verurrsachen · verursacchen · verursacehn · verursachenn
- verursachten ← evrursachten · verrursachten · verrusachten · veruraschten · verurrsachten · verursacchten · verursachetn · verursachhten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verursachen" for "verursachten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verursachen" or "verursachten" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "verursachten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,888,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verursachen" and "verursachten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verursacher vs verursachten". 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 #1,888,698 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.