Which to use
“vereinzelt” is an adjective and “vereitelt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,304
- “vereinzelt” frequency rank
- #32,337
- “vereitelt” frequency rank
- 40641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vereinzelt | vereitelt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nur in sehr geringer Zahl und verstreut vorkommend | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vereiteln |
Where the eye mixes vereinzelt and vereitelt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vereinzelt runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCVCC) against vereitelt's 9 (CVCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vereinzelt with vereitelt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vereinzelt is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nt͡sl̩t] while vereitelt is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯tl̩t]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vereinzelt is recorded at frequency rank #8,304, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nt͡sl̩t]. vereitelt is at rank #32,337, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯tl̩t].
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 40641, this pair ranks #1,502,587 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vereinzelt vs vereitelt
Shared letters: eilrtv. Private to "vereinzelt": nz. Private to "vereitelt": -.
"vereinzelt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC · "vereitelt" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vereinzelt ← evreinzelt · veerinzelt · vereinezlt · vereinnzelt · vereinzellt · vereinzeltt · vereinzetl · vereinzlet
- vereitelt ← evreitelt · veeritelt · vereietlt · vereitellt · vereiteltt · vereitetl · vereitlet · vereittelt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vereinzelt" for "vereitelt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vereinzelt" or "vereitelt"?
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 "vereinzelt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vereitelt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,502,587 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vereinzelt" and "vereitelt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vereiteln vs vereitelt". 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 #1,502,587 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.