verfügevsverfügteConfusable pair

Quick tell: verfüge is a verb, verfügte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verfüge” is a verb and “verfügte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,339
“verfüge” frequency rank
#15,243
“verfügte” frequency rank
46582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfüge verfügte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfügen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs verfügt

Where the eye mixes verfüge and verfügte

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

7 ch
verfüge
8 ch
verfügte

Why the eye confuses verfüge with verfügte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verfüge is [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡə] while verfügte is [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46582, 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]. verfügte is at rank #15,243, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːktə].

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 46582, this pair ranks #1,314,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verfüge vs verfügte

Shared letters: efgrvü. Private to "verfüge": -. Private to "verfügte": t.

"verfüge" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "verfügte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verfüge" and "verfügte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verfüge" is a verb and "verfügte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "verfüge" vs "verfügte" - which ranks higher?
"verfügte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,243 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.

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 "verfüge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verfügte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,314,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfüge" and "verfügte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfüge vs verfügten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,314,153 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