Which to use
“verdanken” and “verdauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,117
- “verdanken” frequency rank
- #24,559
- “verdauen” frequency rank
- 30676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdanken | verdauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem wegen etwas zu Dank verpflichtet sein | Nahrung mit Hilfe der Verdauungsorgane in solche für den Körper verwertbare Bestandteile zerlegen |
Where the eye mixes verdanken and verdauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdanken runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verdauen's 8 (CVCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verdanken with verdauen
A purely visual mix-up. verdanken ([fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]) and verdauen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdaʊ̯ən]) 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 30676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verdanken is recorded at frequency rank #6,117, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]. verdauen is at rank #24,559, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdaʊ̯ən].
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 30676, this pair ranks #1,743,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdanken vs verdauen
Shared letters: adenrv. Private to "verdanken": k. Private to "verdauen": u.
"verdanken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verdauen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verdanken" for "verdauen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verdanken" or "verdauen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verdauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,743,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdanken" and "verdauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdauen vs Vergaben". 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 #1,743,222 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.