Which to use
“verdammen” and “versäumen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,964
- “verdammen” frequency rank
- #33,378
- “versäumen” frequency rank
- 68342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdammen | versäumen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus der (kirchlichen) Gemeinschaft ausschließen | etwas, das erforderlich wäre, nicht tun |
Where the eye mixes verdammen and versäumen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verdammen (CVCCVCCVC) and versäumen (CVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verdammen with versäumen
A purely visual mix-up. verdammen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdamən]) and versäumen ([fɛɐ̯ˈzɔɪ̯mən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68342, 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]. versäumen is at rank #33,378, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzɔɪ̯mən].
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 68342, this pair ranks #510,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of verdammen vs versäumen
Shared letters: emnrv. Private to "verdammen": ad. Private to "versäumen": suä.
"verdammen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "versäumen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verdammen ← evrdammen · vedrammen · veradmmen · verdamemn · verdamen · verdammenn · verdammne · verddammen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verdammen" for "versäumen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verdammen" vs "versäumen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdammen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versäumen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #510,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdammen" and "versäumen" 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 #510,872 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.