Which to use
“verfehlen” and “verkehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,213
- “verfehlen” frequency rank
- #16,863
- “verkehren” frequency rank
- 43076
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfehlen | verkehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen | nur mit dem Hilfsverb haben: |
Where the eye mixes verfehlen and verkehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen and verkehren 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 verkehren
A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and verkehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːʁən]) 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 43076, 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]. verkehren is at rank #16,863, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkeːʁən].
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 43076, this pair ranks #1,429,373 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs verkehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verfehlen": fl. Private to "verkehren": k.
"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verkehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verfehlen" and "verkehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verfehlen" vs "verkehren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verfehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verkehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,429,373 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfehlen" and "verkehren" 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 #1,429,373 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.