verfehlenvsverfehltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,213
“verfehlen” frequency rank
#10,001
“verfehlt” frequency rank
36214
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfehlen verfehlt
Definition ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfehlen

Where the eye mixes verfehlen and verfehlt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verfehlt's 8 (CVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
verfehlen
8 ch
verfehlt

Look-alike desk: verfehlen vs verfehlt

A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and verfehlt ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlt]) 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 36214, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfehlen is recorded at frequency rank #26,213, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]. verfehlt is at rank #10,001, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlt].

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 36214, this pair ranks #1,621,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs verfehlt

Shared letters: efhlrv. Private to "verfehlen": n. Private to "verfehlt": t.

"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verfehlt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verfehlenevrfehlen · vefrehlen · verefhlen · verfeheln · verfehhlen · verfehlenn · verfehllen · verfehlne
  • verfehltevrfehlt · vefrehlt · verefhlt · verfehhlt · verfehllt · verfehltt · verfehtl · verfelht

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verfehlen" and "verfehlt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verfehlen" or "verfehlt" show up more?
"verfehlt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,001 in our German list, against #26,213 for "verfehlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "verfehlen" and "verfehlt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verfehlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,621,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfehlen" and "verfehlt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfehlen vs verfehlten". 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 #1,621,229 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