Which to use
“verfehlen” and “verführen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,213
- “verfehlen” frequency rank
- #16,860
- “verführen” frequency rank
- 43073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfehlen | verführen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen | an einen anderen Ort führen |
Where the eye mixes verfehlen and verführen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen and verführen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verfehlen vs verführen
A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and verführen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːʁən]) 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 43073, 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]. verführen is at rank #16,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːʁən].
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 43073, this pair ranks #1,429,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs verführen
Shared letters: efhnrv. Private to "verfehlen": l. Private to "verführen": ü.
"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verführen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verfehlen ← evrfehlen · vefrehlen · verefhlen · verfeheln · verfehhlen · verfehlenn · verfehllen · verfehlne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verfehlen" and "verführen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verfehlen" or "verführen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verfehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verführen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,429,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfehlen" and "verführen" 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 #1,429,470 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.