verfügevsverfügenTell them apart

Which to use

“verfüge” and “verfügen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#31,339
“verfüge” frequency rank
#4,839
“verfügen” frequency rank
36178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfüge verfügen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfügen als Person/Stelle mit Befugnis/Befehlsgewalt anordnen, dass etwas Genanntes geschehen soll

Where the eye mixes verfüge and verfügen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfüge runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against verfügen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
verfüge
8 ch
verfügen

Visual trap between verfüge and verfügen

A purely visual mix-up. verfüge ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡə]) and verfügen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “verfüge” sits inside “verfügen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfüge is recorded at frequency rank #31,339, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡə]. verfügen is at rank #4,839, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩].

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 36178, this pair ranks #1,622,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfüge vs verfügen

Shared letters: efgrvü. Private to "verfüge": -. Private to "verfügen": n.

"verfüge" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "verfügen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verfüge" and "verfügen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verfüge" or "verfügen" show up more?
"verfügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,839 in our German list, against #31,339 for "verfüge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "verfüge" and "verfügen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfüge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verfügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,622,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfüge" and "verfügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfüge vs verfügten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,622,061 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list