verdrängenvsvertragenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,721
“verdrängen” frequency rank
#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
23202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdrängen vertragen
Definition jemanden oder etwas von seiner Stelle drängen oder schieben; den Platz von etwas einnehmen eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können

Where the eye mixes verdrängen and vertragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdrängen runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCCVC) against vertragen's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
verdrängen
9 ch
vertragen

Why the eye confuses verdrängen with vertragen

A purely visual mix-up. verdrängen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən]) and vertragen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 23202, 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]. vertragen is at rank #9,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩].

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 23202, this pair ranks #1,864,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verdrängen vs vertragen

Shared letters: egnrv. Private to "verdrängen": dä. Private to "vertragen": at.

"verdrängen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertragen ← evrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verdrängen" and "vertragen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁɛŋən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verdrängen" or "vertragen"?
"vertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,481 in our German list, against #13,721 for "verdrängen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdrängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,864,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdrängen" and "vertragen" 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 #1,864,429 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