Which to use
“zerstörte” and “zerstörten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,643
- “zerstörte” frequency rank
- #13,078
- “zerstörten” frequency rank
- 25721
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zerstörte | zerstörten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs zerstört | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs zerstört |
Where the eye mixes zerstörte and zerstörten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. zerstörte runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against zerstörten's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between zerstörte and zerstörten
A purely visual mix-up. zerstörte ([t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) and zerstörten ([t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tn̩]) 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) - “zerstörte” sits inside “zerstörten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zerstörte is recorded at frequency rank #12,643, classified as anadj, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]. zerstörten is at rank #13,078, tagged as anadj, pronounced [t͡sɛɐ̯ˈʃtøːɐ̯tn̩].
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 25721, this pair ranks #1,828,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zerstörte vs zerstörten
Shared letters: erstzö. Private to "zerstörte": -. Private to "zerstörten": n.
"zerstörte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV · "zerstörten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zerstörte" and "zerstörten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "zerstörte" or "zerstörten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zerstörte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zerstörten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,828,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zerstörte" and "zerstörten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zerstöre vs zerstörten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,828,973 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.