verbreitenvsverleitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,838
“verbreiten” frequency rank
#28,451
“verleiten” frequency rank
33289
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbreiten verleiten
Definition in einen großen Umkreis gelangen jemanden zu einer Handlung veranlassen, die er von sich aus nicht gemacht hätte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbreiten and verleiten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verbreiten
9 ch
verleiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verbreiten ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and verleiten ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 33289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbreiten is recorded at frequency rank #4,838, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]. verleiten is at rank #28,451, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩].

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 33289, this pair ranks #1,689,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verbreiten vs verleiten

Shared letters: einrtv. Private to "verbreiten": b. Private to "verleiten": l.

"verbreiten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "verleiten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbreitenevrbreiten · vebrreiten · verbbreiten · verberiten · verbreietn · verbreitenn · verbreitne · verbreitten
  • verleitenevrleiten · velreiten · vereliten · verleietn · verleitenn · verleitne · verleitten · verletien

Frequency comparison

verbreiten#4,838
verleiten#28,451

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbreiten" and "verleiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verbreiten" or "verleiten"?
"verbreiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,838 in our German list, against #28,451 for "verleiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verbreiten vs verleiten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verbreiten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list