verachtenvsVerachtungWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: verachten is a verb, Verachtung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verachten” is a verb and “Verachtung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,433
“verachten” frequency rank
#16,029
“Verachtung” frequency rank
35462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verachten Verachtung
Definition etwas oder jemanden geringschätzen/verabscheuen ein Zustand der Missachtung, der Abscheu, der Geringschätzung, der nachdrücklichen Beurteilung jemandes oder etwas als schlecht, minderwertig oder abscheulich, der Ignoranz

Where the eye mixes verachten and Verachtung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verachten runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against Verachtung's 10 (CVCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
verachten
10 ch
Verachtung

Why the eye confuses verachten with Verachtung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verachten is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaxtn̩] while Verachtung is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaxtʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verachten is recorded at frequency rank #19,433, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaxtn̩]. Verachtung is at rank #16,029, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaxtʊŋ].

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 35462, this pair ranks #1,639,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verachten vs Verachtung

Shared letters: acehnrtv. Private to "verachten": -. Private to "Verachtung": gu.

"verachten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "Verachtung" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verachten ← evrachten · vearchten · veracchten · verachetn · verachhten · verachtenn · verachtne · verachtten
  • Verachtung ← evrachtung · vearchtung · veracchtung · verachhtung · verachtnug · verachttung · verachtugn · verachtungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verachten" and "Verachtung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verachten" is a verb and "Verachtung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "verachten" vs "Verachtung" - which ranks higher?
"Verachtung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,029 in our German list, against #19,433 for "verachten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verachten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verachtung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,639,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verachten" and "Verachtung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verachtung vs Verpachtung". 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 #1,639,398 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