Which to use
“verblassen” and “verlassen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,963
- “verblassen” frequency rank
- #981
- “verlassen” frequency rank
- 35944
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verblassen | verlassen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Zeit (als Farbe) weniger kräftig (blasser) werden | weggehen, sich entfernen |
Where the eye mixes verblassen and verlassen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verblassen runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCCVC) against verlassen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verblassen with verlassen
A purely visual mix-up. verblassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈblasn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verblassen is recorded at frequency rank #34,963, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈblasn̩]. 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 35944, this pair ranks #1,627,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verblassen vs verlassen
Shared letters: aelnrsv. Private to "verblassen": b. Private to "verlassen": -.
"verblassen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "verlassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verblassen ← evrblassen · vebrlassen · verbalssen · verbblassen · verblasen · verblasesn · verblassenn · verblassne
- verlassen ← evrlassen · velrassen · veralssen · verlasen · verlasesn · verlassenn · verlassne · verlaßen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verblassen" for "verlassen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verblassen" or "verlassen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verblassen" 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 #1,627,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verblassen" and "verlassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbissen vs verblassen". 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 #1,627,747 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.