Which to use
“verfehlen” and “vermehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,213
- “verfehlen” frequency rank
- #14,198
- “vermehren” frequency rank
- 40411
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfehlen | vermehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen | die Menge von etwas vergrößern oder auch mehr werden |
Where the eye mixes verfehlen and vermehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen and vermehren 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 vermehren
A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and vermehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən]) 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 40411, 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]. vermehren is at rank #14,198, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən].
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 40411, this pair ranks #1,509,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs vermehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verfehlen": fl. Private to "vermehren": m.
"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vermehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verfehlen" for "vermehren" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verfehlen" vs "vermehren" - which ranks higher?
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 "vermehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,509,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfehlen" and "vermehren" 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 #1,509,280 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.