verdrängenvsverhängenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,721
“verdrängen” frequency rank
#27,545
“verhängen” frequency rank
41266
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdrängen verhängen
Definition jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen etwas mit einem Tuch oder dergleichen zuhängen, verbergen

Where the eye mixes verdrängen and verhängen

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

10 ch
verdrängen
9 ch
verhängen

Why the eye confuses verdrängen with verhängen

A purely visual mix-up. verdrängen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdrängen is recorded at frequency rank #13,721, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən]. 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 41266, this pair ranks #1,484,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verdrängen vs verhängen

Shared letters: egnrvä. Private to "verdrängen": d. Private to "verhängen": h.

"verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "verhängen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verdrängen" and "verhängen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verdrängen" or "verhängen"?
"verdrängen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,721 in our German list, against #27,545 for "verhängen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "verdrängen" and "verhängen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdrängen" 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 #1,484,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdrängen" and "verhängen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhängen vs verjagen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,484,523 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