Which to use
“vergangene” is an adjective and “Verlangen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,194
- “vergangene” frequency rank
- #2,272
- “Verlangen” frequency rank
- 12466
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergangene | Verlangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergangen | stark ausgeprägter Wunsch; körperlicher, seelischer, geistiger Drang, einen empfundenen Mangel auszugleichen |
Where the eye mixes vergangene and Verlangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergangene runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against Verlangen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vergangene with Verlangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergangene is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənə] while Verlangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergangene is recorded at frequency rank #10,194, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənə]. Verlangen is at rank #2,272, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən].
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 12466, this pair ranks #1,964,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vergangene vs Verlangen
Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "vergangene": -. Private to "Verlangen": l.
"vergangene" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV · "Verlangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vergangene ← evrgangene · vegrangene · veragngene · vergagnene · verganegne · vergangeen · verganggene · vergangnee
- Verlangen ← evrlangen · velrangen · veralngen · verlagnen · verlanegn · verlangenn · verlanggen · verlangne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vergangene" and "Verlangen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "vergangene" or "Verlangen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "vergangene" and "Verlangen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergangene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verlangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,964,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergangene" and "Verlangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verfangen vs vergangene". 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 #1,964,025 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.