Which to use
“verfangen” is a verb and “vergangen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,277
- “verfangen” frequency rank
- #8,001
- “vergangen” frequency rank
- 48278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfangen | vergangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den gewünschten oder beabsichtigten Erfolg haben; wirken | nicht mehr aktuell; in der Vergangenheit liegend |
Where the eye mixes verfangen and vergangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verfangen and vergangen 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 vergangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verfangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈfaŋən] while vergangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “verfangen” becomes g in “vergangen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48278, 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]. vergangen is at rank #8,001, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən].
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 48278, this pair ranks #1,254,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfangen vs vergangen
Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "verfangen": f. Private to "vergangen": -.
"verfangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vergangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verfangen" and "vergangen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verfangen" or "vergangen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verfangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vergangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,254,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfangen" and "vergangen" 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 #1,254,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.