Which to use
“verachten” and “verzichten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,433
- “verachten” frequency rank
- #2,567
- “verzichten” frequency rank
- 22000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verachten | verzichten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden geringschätzen/verabscheuen | Ansprüche auf etwas freiwillig aufgeben; etwas aus seiner freien Entscheidung heraus nicht tun |
Where the eye mixes verachten and verzichten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verachten runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against verzichten's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verachten and verzichten
A purely visual mix-up. verachten ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔaxtn̩]) and verzichten ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɪçtn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22000, 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]. verzichten is at rank #2,567, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡sɪçtn̩].
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 22000, this pair ranks #1,879,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verachten vs verzichten
Shared letters: cehnrtv. Private to "verachten": a. Private to "verzichten": iz.
"verachten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "verzichten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verachten ← evrachten · vearchten · veracchten · verachetn · verachhten · verachtenn · verachtne · verachtten
- verzichten ← evrzichten · verizchten · verrzichten · verzcihten · verzicchten · verzichetn · verzichhten · verzichtenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verachten" and "verzichten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verachten" or "verzichten"?
What to do next
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 "verzichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,879,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verachten" and "verzichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verachten vs verpachtet". 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 #1,879,563 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.