VerengungvsVererbungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,083
“Verengung” frequency rank
#37,862
“Vererbung” frequency rank
84945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verengung Vererbung
Definition der Vorgang des Sichverengens Weitergabe von Merkmalen an die Nachkommen

Where the eye mixes Verengung and Vererbung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Verengung and Vererbung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
Verengung
9 ch
Vererbung

Visual trap between Verengung and Vererbung

A purely visual mix-up. Verengung ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛŋʊŋ]) and Vererbung ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbʊŋ]) 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 84945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verengung is recorded at frequency rank #47,083, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛŋʊŋ]. Vererbung is at rank #37,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbʊŋ].

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 84945, this pair ranks #115,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Verengung vs Vererbung

Shared letters: egnruv. Private to "Verengung": -. Private to "Vererbung": b.

"Verengung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Vererbung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verengung ← evrengung · veerngung · veregnung · verenggung · verengnug · verengugn · verengungg · verengunng
  • Vererbung ← evrerbung · veerrbung · verebrung · vererbbung · vererbnug · vererbugn · vererbungg · vererbunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verengung" for "Vererbung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛŋʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verengung" vs "Vererbung" - which ranks higher?
"Vererbung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,862 in our German list, against #47,083 for "Verengung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verengung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vererbung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #115,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verengung" and "Vererbung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verengung vs Verhängung". 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 #115,810 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