Which to use
“vergehen” and “verwehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,606
- “vergehen” frequency rank
- #31,351
- “verwehren” frequency rank
- 37957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergehen | verwehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (rasch) zu Ende kommen | nicht erlauben, nicht gestatten, verbieten, versperren; jemandem etwas nicht gewähren |
Where the eye mixes vergehen and verwehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vergehen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verwehren's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: vergehen vs verwehren
A purely visual mix-up. vergehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and verwehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) 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 37957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergehen is recorded at frequency rank #6,606, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]. verwehren is at rank #31,351, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən].
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 37957, this pair ranks #1,576,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vergehen vs verwehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "vergehen": g. Private to "verwehren": w.
"vergehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "verwehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vergehen" and "verwehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vergehen" vs "verwehren" - which ranks higher?
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 "vergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verwehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,576,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergehen" and "verwehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwehren vs verworren". 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 #1,576,640 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.