When something doesn’t feel right—when the facts don’t add up, or someone seems a little too quiet—Germans call that feeling Verdacht. It’s a word that lives in police stations, courtrooms, and anxious inner thoughts.
The noun Verdacht means suspicion, suspicion of wrongdoing, or a hunch, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it constantly in crime stories, journalism, and legal settings.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Verdacht.
Pronunciation
Verdacht is pronounced [fer-DAHKT].
- The ch is hard, like in Bach,
- Final -t is pronounced sharply,
- Stress is on the second syllable: fer-DAHKT
It ends with a punch—just like the mood it evokes.
Example sentences:
- Die Polizei hatte einen konkreten Verdacht.
The police had a specific suspicion. - Es bestand der Verdacht auf Betrug.
There was suspicion of fraud.
Nuance and usage tips
Verdacht refers to strong suspicion, often with a legal or medical edge:
- Criminal/legal context
- Tatverdacht – suspicion of a crime
- unter Verdacht stehen – to be under suspicion
- jemanden verdächtigen – to suspect someone (verb form)
- Medical/diagnostic
- Verdacht auf Krebs – suspected cancer
- klinischer Verdacht – clinical suspicion
- Everyday hunches
- Ich habe so einen Verdacht... – “I have a feeling…” (casual but ominous)
Its antonyms?
- Gewissheit (certainty),
- Beweis (proof)
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Der Verdacht fiel auf den Nachbarn.
Suspicion fell on the neighbor. - Accusative:
Sie äußerte den Verdacht sehr vorsichtig.
She voiced the suspicion very carefully. - Dative:
Mit dem Verdacht begann die Untersuchung.
The investigation began with the suspicion. - Genitive:
Wegen des Verdachts wurde er festgenommen.
Because of the suspicion, he was arrested.
Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Verdacht
🎥 Learn Verdacht and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For lighter “suspicions” (like you suspect someone’s hiding a birthday gift), you might say Ahnung or use a softer phrasing. But when it’s serious—whether criminal, medical, or emotional—Verdacht is the word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Verfassung means? How about Vergnügen? Find out!