verbogenvsverzögernTell them apart

Which to use

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

#40,920
“verbogen” frequency rank
#21,468
“verzögern” frequency rank
62388
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbogen verzögern
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verbiegen einen Ablauf unterbrechen, so dass ein bestimmtes Ereignis später eintrifft

Where the eye mixes verbogen and verzögern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verbogen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verzögern's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verbogen
9 ch
verzögern

Look-alike desk: verbogen vs verzögern

A purely visual mix-up. verbogen ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːɡn̩]) and verzögern ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡søːɡɐn]) 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 62388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbogen is recorded at frequency rank #40,920, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːɡn̩]. verzögern is at rank #21,468, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡søːɡɐn].

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 62388, this pair ranks #714,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verbogen vs verzögern

Shared letters: egnrv. Private to "verbogen": bo. Private to "verzögern": zö.

"verbogen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verzögern" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbogen ← evrbogen · vebrogen · verbbogen · verbgoen · verboegn · verbogenn · verboggen · verbogne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verbogen" for "verzögern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡søːɡɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verbogen" vs "verzögern" - which ranks higher?
"verzögern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,468 in our German list, against #40,920 for "verbogen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verbogen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verzögern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #714,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verbogen" and "verzögern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbogen vs Vorboten". 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 #714,748 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