widersprechevswidersprochenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“widerspreche” and “widersprochen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#31,881
“widerspreche” frequency rank
#23,376
“widersprochen” frequency rank
55257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature widerspreche widersprochen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs widersprechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs widersprechen

Where the eye mixes widerspreche and widersprochen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. widerspreche runs 12 letters (CVCVCCCCVCCV) against widersprochen's 13 (CVCVCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
widerspreche
13 ch
widersprochen

Visual trap between widerspreche and widersprochen

A purely visual mix-up. widerspreche ([ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçə]) and widersprochen ([ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɔxn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

widerspreche is recorded at frequency rank #31,881, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçə]. widersprochen is at rank #23,376, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɔxn̩].

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 55257, this pair ranks #986,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of widerspreche vs widersprochen

Shared letters: cdehiprsw. Private to "widerspreche": -. Private to "widersprochen": no.

"widerspreche" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCV  ·  "widersprochen" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • widerspreche ← iwderspreche · wdierspreche · widderspreche · widerpsreche · widerrspreche · widersperche · widersppreche · widersprcehe
  • widersprochen ← iwdersprochen · wdiersprochen · widdersprochen · widerpsrochen · widerrsprochen · widersporchen · widerspprochen · widersprcohen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "widerspreche" for "widersprochen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçə] versus [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɔxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "widerspreche" or "widersprochen"?
"widersprochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,376 in our German list, against #31,881 for "widerspreche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "widerspreche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "widersprochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #986,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "widerspreche" and "widersprochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "widerspreche vs Widersprüchen". 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 #986,597 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list