verbissenvsvermiesenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#36,700
“verbissen” frequency rank
#42,231
“vermiesen” frequency rank
78931
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbissen vermiesen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verbeißen etwas Schönes (das jemand anderes erlebt, wie Freude, Spass oder gute Stimmung) stören/verderben

Where the eye mixes verbissen and vermiesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verbissen (CVCCVCCVC) and vermiesen (CVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
verbissen
9 ch
vermiesen

Why the eye confuses verbissen with vermiesen

A purely visual mix-up. verbissen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩]) and vermiesen ([fɛɐ̯ˈmiːzn̩]) 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 78931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbissen is recorded at frequency rank #36,700, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩]. vermiesen is at rank #42,231, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmiːzn̩].

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 78931, this pair ranks #227,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of verbissen vs vermiesen

Shared letters: einrsv. Private to "verbissen": b. Private to "vermiesen": m.

"verbissen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vermiesen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbissen ← evrbissen · vebrissen · verbbissen · verbisen · verbisesn · verbissenn · verbissne · verbißen
  • vermiesen ← evrmiesen · vemriesen · verimesen · vermeisen · vermieesn · vermiesenn · vermiesne · vermiessen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verbissen" for "vermiesen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmiːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verbissen" vs "vermiesen" - which ranks higher?
"verbissen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,700 in our German list, against #42,231 for "vermiesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "verbissen" and "vermiesen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verbissen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vermiesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verbissen" and "vermiesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbissen vs vergossen". 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 #227,415 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