Which to use
“verbauen” and “versagen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,856
- “verbauen” frequency rank
- #6,119
- “versagen” frequency rank
- 43975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbauen | versagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Material/Geld für einen Bau verbrauchen | nicht so funktionieren, wie es geplant war oder üblich ist |
Where the eye mixes verbauen and versagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verbauen (CVCCVVVC) and versagen (CVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: verbauen vs versagen
A purely visual mix-up. verbauen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]) and versagen ([fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbauen is recorded at frequency rank #37,856, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]. versagen is at rank #6,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩].
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 43975, this pair ranks #1,401,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verbauen vs versagen
Shared letters: aenrv. Private to "verbauen": bu. Private to "versagen": gs.
"verbauen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC · "versagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verbauen" and "versagen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verbauen" or "versagen"?
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 "verbauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,401,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbauen" and "versagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbauen vs Vergaben". 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 #1,401,081 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.