verdammenvsversammelnWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,964
“verdammen” frequency rank
#14,199
“versammeln” frequency rank
49163
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdammen versammeln
Definition aus der (kirchlichen) Gemeinschaft ausschließen sich an einem Ort treffen (sammeln)

Where the eye mixes verdammen and versammeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verdammen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against versammeln's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
verdammen
10 ch
versammeln

Why the eye confuses verdammen with versammeln

A purely visual mix-up. verdammen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdamən]) and versammeln ([fɛɐ̯ˈzaml̩n]) 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 49163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdammen is recorded at frequency rank #34,964, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdamən]. versammeln is at rank #14,199, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaml̩n].

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 49163, this pair ranks #1,221,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verdammen vs versammeln

Shared letters: aemnrv. Private to "verdammen": d. Private to "versammeln": ls.

"verdammen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "versammeln" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verdammenevrdammen · vedrammen · veradmmen · verdamemn · verdamen · verdammenn · verdammne · verddammen
  • versammelnevrsammeln · verasmmeln · verrsammeln · versameln · versamemln · versammelln · versammelnn · versammenl

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verdammen" and "versammeln" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdamən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈzaml̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verdammen" or "versammeln"?
"versammeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,199 in our German list, against #34,964 for "verdammen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdammen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versammeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,221,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdammen" and "versammeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdammen vs verdampfen". 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 #1,221,787 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