Which to use
“verfangen” and “verfolgen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,277
- “verfangen” frequency rank
- #2,795
- “verfolgen” frequency rank
- 43072
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfangen | verfolgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den gewünschten oder beabsichtigten Erfolg haben; wirken | jemandem hinterher fahren oder gehen, eventuell um ihn einzuholen; jemandem auf den Fersen sein |
Where the eye mixes verfangen and verfolgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfangen and verfolgen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verfangen vs verfolgen
A purely visual mix-up. verfangen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfaŋən]) and verfolgen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]) 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 43072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verfangen is recorded at frequency rank #40,277, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfaŋən]. verfolgen is at rank #2,795, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩].
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 43072, this pair ranks #1,429,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfangen vs verfolgen
Shared letters: efgnrv. Private to "verfangen": a. Private to "verfolgen": lo.
"verfangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verfolgen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verfangen" and "verfolgen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verfangen" vs "verfolgen" - which ranks higher?
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 "verfangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verfolgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,429,499 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfangen" and "verfolgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfangen vs verjagen". 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 #1,429,499 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.