Which to use
“zerstören” is a verb and “zerstört” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,090
- “zerstören” frequency rank
- #1,835
- “zerstört” frequency rank
- 5925
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zerstören | zerstört |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas sehr stark beschädigen und (damit meist) unbrauchbar machen | gewaltsam und mutwillig kaputt gemacht |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zerstören and zerstört apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
zerstören and zerstört form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5925, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zerstören is recorded at frequency rank #4,090, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːʁən]. zerstört is at rank #1,835, tagged as anadj, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯t].
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 5925, this pair ranks #1,993,289 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zerstören" and "zerstört" be used interchangeably?
Remembering zerstören vs zerstört
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “zerstören”; for an adjective, it's “zerstört”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zerstören” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable