Which to use
“verdanken” and “verhängen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,117
- “verdanken” frequency rank
- #27,545
- “verhängen” frequency rank
- 33662
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdanken | verhängen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem wegen etwas zu Dank verpflichtet sein | etwas mit einem Tuch oder dergleichen zuhängen, verbergen |
Where the eye mixes verdanken and verhängen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses verdanken with verhängen
A purely visual mix-up. verdanken ([fɛɐ̯ˈdaŋkn̩]) and verhängen ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋən]) 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 33662, 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]. verhängen is at rank #27,545, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋən].
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 33662, this pair ranks #1,680,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdanken vs verhängen
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "verdanken": adk. Private to "verhängen": ghä.
"verdanken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verhängen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verdanken ← evrdanken · vedranken · veradnken · verdaknen · verdanekn · verdankenn · verdankken · verdankne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verdanken" and "verhängen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verdanken" or "verhängen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdanken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhängen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,680,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdanken" and "verhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhängen vs verjagen". 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 #1,680,832 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.