VerfügungvsVergütungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#980
“Verfügung” frequency rank
#12,193
“Vergütung” frequency rank
13173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verfügung Vergütung
Definition anordnende Bestimmung Geldsumme, mit der etwas vergütet wird; zum Beispiel Geld als Gegenleistung für eine Arbeit, Ware, Entschädigung oder ein Nutzungsrecht

Where the eye mixes Verfügung and Vergütung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Verfügung and Vergütung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
Verfügung
9 ch
Vergütung

Visual trap between Verfügung and Vergütung

A purely visual mix-up. Verfügung ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡʊŋ]) and Vergütung ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ]) 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 13173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verfügung is recorded at frequency rank #980, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡʊŋ]. Vergütung is at rank #12,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ].

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 13173, this pair ranks #1,959,664 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verfügung vs Vergütung

Shared letters: egnruvü. Private to "Verfügung": f. Private to "Vergütung": t.

"Verfügung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "Vergütung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verfügung" and "Vergütung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈfyːɡʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Verfügung" or "Vergütung" show up more?
"Verfügung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #980 in our German list, against #12,193 for "Vergütung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verfügung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergütung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,959,664 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verfügung" and "Vergütung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergütung vs Vergütungen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,959,664 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