veranlassenvsverlassenConfusable pair

Which to use

“veranlassen” and “verlassen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,405
“veranlassen” frequency rank
#981
“verlassen” frequency rank
13386
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature veranlassen verlassen
Definition einen Auftrag erteilen weggehen, sich entfernen

Where the eye mixes veranlassen and verlassen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. veranlassen runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVCCVC) against verlassen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
veranlassen
9 ch
verlassen

Visual trap between veranlassen and verlassen

A purely visual mix-up. veranlassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔanˌlasn̩]) and verlassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

veranlassen is recorded at frequency rank #12,405, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔanˌlasn̩]. verlassen is at rank #981, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩].

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 13386, this pair ranks #1,958,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of veranlassen vs verlassen

Shared letters: aelnrsv. Private to "veranlassen": -. Private to "verlassen": -.

"veranlassen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC  ·  "verlassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • veranlassen ← evranlassen · vearnlassen · veralnassen · veranalssen · veranlasen · veranlasesn · veranlassenn · veranlassne
  • verlassen ← evrlassen · velrassen · veralssen · verlasen · verlasesn · verlassenn · verlassne · verlaßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "veranlassen" and "verlassen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔanˌlasn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "veranlassen" or "verlassen" show up more?
"verlassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #981 in our German list, against #12,405 for "veranlassen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "veranlassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "veranlassen" and "verlassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "veranlassen vs veranlassten". 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 #1,958,331 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