Which to use
“verdrängen” is a verb and “Verlangen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,721
- “verdrängen” frequency rank
- #2,272
- “Verlangen” frequency rank
- 15993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdrängen | Verlangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen | stark ausgeprägter Wunsch; körperlicher, seelischer, geistiger Drang, einen empfundenen Mangel auszugleichen |
Where the eye mixes verdrängen and Verlangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdrängen runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCCVC) against Verlangen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verdrängen with Verlangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verdrängen is [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən] while Verlangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15993, 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]. Verlangen is at rank #2,272, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən].
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 15993, this pair ranks #1,939,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdrängen vs Verlangen
Shared letters: egnrv. Private to "verdrängen": dä. Private to "Verlangen": al.
"verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "Verlangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Verlangen ← evrlangen · velrangen · veralngen · verlagnen · verlanegn · verlangenn · verlanggen · verlangne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verdrängen" and "Verlangen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verdrängen" or "Verlangen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdrängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verlangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,939,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdrängen" and "Verlangen" 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 #1,939,510 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.