Which to use
“verfehlen” and “verwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,213
- “verfehlen” frequency rank
- #31,351
- “verwehren” frequency rank
- 57564
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfehlen | verwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen | nicht erlauben, nicht gestatten, verbieten, versperren; jemandem etwas nicht gewähren |
Where the eye mixes verfehlen and verwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen and verwehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verfehlen and verwehren
A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and verwehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) 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 57564, 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]. verwehren is at rank #31,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən].
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 57564, this pair ranks #896,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs verwehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verfehlen": fl. Private to "verwehren": w.
"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verwehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verfehlen" for "verwehren" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verfehlen" or "verwehren"?
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 "verwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #896,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfehlen" and "verwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwehren vs verworren". 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 #896,595 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.