Which to use
“Vergaben” is a noun and “versauen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,085
- “Vergaben” frequency rank
- #21,116
- “versauen” frequency rank
- 68201
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Vergaben | versauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vergabe | etwas sehr, sehr schlecht erledigen oder behandeln, so dass es missglückt oder zerstört ist |
Where the eye mixes Vergaben and versauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Vergaben (CVCCVCVC) and versauen (CVCCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Vergaben vs versauen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vergaben is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbn̩] while versauen is [fɛɐ̯ˈzaʊ̯ən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Vergaben is recorded at frequency rank #47,085, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbn̩]. versauen is at rank #21,116, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaʊ̯ən].
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 68201, this pair ranks #515,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Vergaben vs versauen
Shared letters: aenrv. Private to "Vergaben": bg. Private to "versauen": su.
"Vergaben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "versauen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Vergaben" and "versauen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Vergaben" or "versauen"?
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 "Vergaben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #515,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Vergaben" and "versauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs vergebe". 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 #515,481 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.