verfügenvsverführenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,839
“verfügen” frequency rank
#16,860
“verführen” frequency rank
21699
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfügen verführen
Definition als Person/Stelle mit Befugnis/Befehlsgewalt anordnen, dass etwas Genanntes geschehen soll an einen anderen Ort führen

Where the eye mixes verfügen and verführen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verfügen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verführen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verfügen
9 ch
verführen

Why the eye confuses verfügen with verführen

A purely visual mix-up. verfügen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩]) and verführen ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːʁən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfügen is recorded at frequency rank #4,839, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩]. verführen is at rank #16,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːʁən].

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 21699, this pair ranks #1,883,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfügen vs verführen

Shared letters: efnrvü. Private to "verfügen": g. Private to "verführen": h.

"verfügen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verführen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verfügen" and "verführen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verfügen" vs "verführen" - which ranks higher?
"verfügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,839 in our German list, against #16,860 for "verführen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfügen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verführen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,883,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfügen" and "verführen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verführen vs verwahren". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,883,173 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