Which to use
“verurteilen” is a verb and “verurteilte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,350
- “verurteilen” frequency rank
- #12,823
- “verurteilte” frequency rank
- 24173
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verurteilen | verurteilte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | über jemanden ein gerichtliches Urteil fällen, das zu einer Bestrafung führt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verurteilt |
Where the eye mixes verurteilen and verurteilte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verurteilen (CVCVCCVVCVC) and verurteilte (CVCVCCVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verurteilen with verurteilte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verurteilen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔʊʁtaɪ̯lən] while verurteilte is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔʊʁtaɪ̯ltə]. 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 24173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verurteilen is recorded at frequency rank #11,350, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔʊʁtaɪ̯lən]. verurteilte is at rank #12,823, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔʊʁtaɪ̯ltə].
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 24173, this pair ranks #1,851,376 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verurteilen vs verurteilte
Shared letters: eilrtuv. Private to "verurteilen": n. Private to "verurteilte": -.
"verurteilen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVC · "verurteilte" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verurteilen ← evrurteilen · verrurteilen · verruteilen · veruretilen · verurrteilen · verurteieln · verurteilenn · verurteillen
- verurteilte ← evrurteilte · verrurteilte · verruteilte · veruretilte · verurrteilte · verurteilet · verurteillte · verurteiltte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verurteilen" and "verurteilte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verurteilen" or "verurteilte"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verurteilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verurteilte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,851,376 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verurteilen" and "verurteilte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verurteilte vs verurteilter". 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 #1,851,376 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.