Which to use
“verdanken” and “verdrängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,117
- “verdanken” frequency rank
- #13,721
- “verdrängen” frequency rank
- 19838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdanken | verdrängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem wegen etwas zu Dank verpflichtet sein | jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen |
Where the eye mixes verdanken and verdrängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verdanken vs verdrängen
A purely visual mix-up. verdanken ([fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]) and verdrängen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən]) 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 19838, 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]. verdrängen is at rank #13,721, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən].
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 19838, this pair ranks #1,904,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdanken vs verdrängen
Shared letters: denrv. Private to "verdanken": ak. Private to "verdrängen": gä.
"verdanken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verdanken ← evrdanken · vedranken · veradnken · verdaknen · verdanekn · verdankenn · verdankken · verdankne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verdanken" and "verdrängen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verdanken" or "verdrängen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "verdanken" and "verdrängen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verdrängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,904,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdanken" and "verdrängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdrängen vs verdrängten". 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 #1,904,060 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.