verfügtvsversagtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,001
“verfügt” frequency rank
#5,896
“versagt” frequency rank
8897
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verfügt versagt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verfügen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs versagen

Where the eye mixes verfügt and versagt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. verfügt and versagt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
verfügt
7 ch
versagt

Look-alike desk: verfügt vs versagt

A purely visual mix-up. verfügt ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːkt]) and versagt ([fɛɐ̯ˈzaːkt]) 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 8897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verfügt is recorded at frequency rank #3,001, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːkt]. versagt is at rank #5,896, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːkt].

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 8897, this pair ranks #1,982,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verfügt vs versagt

Shared letters: egrtv. Private to "verfügt": fü. Private to "versagt": as.

"verfügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "versagt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versagt ← evrsagt · verasgt · verrsagt · versaggt · versagtt · versatg · versgat · verssagt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verfügt" and "versagt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːkt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verfügt" or "versagt"?
"verfügt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,001 in our German list, against #5,896 for "versagt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verfügt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versagt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,982,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verfügt" and "versagt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "versagt vs versank". 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 #1,982,324 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