Which to use
“verfolgen” and “verholfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,795
- “verfolgen” frequency rank
- #31,342
- “verholfen” frequency rank
- 34137
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verfolgen | verholfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem hinterher fahren oder gehen, eventuell um ihn einzuholen; jemandem auf den Fersen sein | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verhelfen |
Where the eye mixes verfolgen and verholfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfolgen and verholfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verfolgen vs verholfen
A purely visual mix-up. verfolgen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]) and verholfen ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɔlfn̩]) 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 34137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verfolgen is recorded at frequency rank #2,795, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfɔlɡn̩]. verholfen is at rank #31,342, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɔlfn̩].
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 34137, this pair ranks #1,670,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verfolgen vs verholfen
Shared letters: eflnorv. Private to "verfolgen": g. Private to "verholfen": h.
"verfolgen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verholfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verfolgen" and "verholfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verfolgen" vs "verholfen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verfolgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verholfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,670,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verfolgen" and "verholfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verholfen vs verhören". 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 #1,670,219 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.