vergehtvsverzehrtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,827
“vergeht” frequency rank
#21,833
“verzehrt” frequency rank
31660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergeht verzehrt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verzehren

Where the eye mixes vergeht and verzehrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vergeht runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against verzehrt's 8 (CVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
vergeht
8 ch
verzehrt

Why the eye confuses vergeht with verzehrt

A purely visual mix-up. vergeht ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]) and verzehrt ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːɐ̯t]) 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 31660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergeht is recorded at frequency rank #9,827, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]. verzehrt is at rank #21,833, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːɐ̯t].

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 31660, this pair ranks #1,723,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vergeht vs verzehrt

Shared letters: ehrtv. Private to "vergeht": g. Private to "verzehrt": z.

"vergeht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "verzehrt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergeht ← evrgeht · vegreht · vereght · vergehht · vergehtt · vergeth · verggeht · verghet
  • verzehrt ← evrzehrt · verezhrt · verrzehrt · verzehhrt · verzehrrt · verzehrtt · verzehtr · verzerht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vergeht" and "verzehrt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt] versus [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergeht" vs "verzehrt" - which ranks higher?
"vergeht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,827 in our German list, against #21,833 for "verzehrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vergeht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verzehrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,723,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergeht" and "verzehrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verweht vs verzehrt". 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 #1,723,671 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