Which to use
“verfangen” and “verlange” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,277
- “verfangen” frequency rank
- #16,584
- “verlange” frequency rank
- 56861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfangen | verlange |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den gewünschten oder beabsichtigten Erfolg haben; wirken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlangen |
Where the eye mixes verfangen and verlange
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfangen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verlange's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verfangen and verlange
A purely visual mix-up. verfangen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfaŋən]) and verlange ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56861, 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]. verlange is at rank #16,584, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋə].
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 56861, this pair ranks #923,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfangen vs verlange
Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "verfangen": f. Private to "verlange": l.
"verfangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verlange" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verfangen" for "verlange" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verfangen" vs "verlange" - 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 "verlange" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #923,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfangen" and "verlange" 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 #923,831 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.