Which to use
“verfehlen” and “verzehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,213
- “verfehlen” frequency rank
- #28,919
- “verzehren” frequency rank
- 55132
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfehlen | verzehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Ziel nicht treffen, nicht erreichen | als Nahrung zu sich nehmen |
Where the eye mixes verfehlen and verzehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfehlen and verzehren 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 verzehren
A purely visual mix-up. verfehlen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfeːlən]) and verzehren ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːʁən]) 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 55132, 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]. verzehren is at rank #28,919, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːʁən].
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 55132, this pair ranks #991,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verfehlen vs verzehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verfehlen": fl. Private to "verzehren": z.
"verfehlen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verzehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verfehlen" and "verzehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verfehlen" vs "verzehren" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "verzehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #991,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfehlen" and "verzehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwahren vs verzehren". 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 #991,519 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.