Which to use
“zerstört” and “zerstörte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,835
- “zerstört” frequency rank
- #12,643
- “zerstörte” frequency rank
- 14478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zerstört | zerstörte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gewaltsam und mutwillig kaputt gemacht | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs zerstört |
Where the eye mixes zerstört and zerstörte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zerstört runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against zerstörte's 9 (CVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zerstört with zerstörte
A purely visual mix-up. zerstört ([t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯t]) and zerstörte ([t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “zerstört” sits inside “zerstörte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zerstört is recorded at frequency rank #1,835, classified as anadj, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯t]. zerstörte is at rank #12,643, tagged as anadj, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə].
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 14478, this pair ranks #1,950,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zerstört vs zerstörte
Shared letters: erstzö. Private to "zerstört": -. Private to "zerstörte": -.
"zerstört" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "zerstörte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zerstört" and "zerstörte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "zerstört" or "zerstörte" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "zerstört" and "zerstörte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zerstört" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zerstörte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,950,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zerstört" and "zerstörte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zerstöre vs zerstörte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,950,930 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.