Which to use
“verdrehen” and “verliehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,376
- “verdrehen” frequency rank
- #5,662
- “verliehen” frequency rank
- 31038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdrehen | verliehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Ausrichtung von etwas ändern | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verleihen |
Where the eye mixes verdrehen and verliehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdrehen (CVCCCVCVC) and verliehen (CVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verdrehen with verliehen
A purely visual mix-up. verdrehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈdʁeːən]) and verliehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verdrehen is recorded at frequency rank #25,376, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdʁeːən]. verliehen is at rank #5,662, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːən].
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 31038, this pair ranks #1,736,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdrehen vs verliehen
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verdrehen": d. Private to "verliehen": il.
"verdrehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "verliehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verdrehen" and "verliehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verdrehen" or "verliehen"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdrehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verliehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,736,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdrehen" and "verliehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdrehen vs verdrehte". 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 #1,736,047 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.