Which to use
“vergessen” is an adjective and “vergossen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #625
- “vergessen” frequency rank
- #40,282
- “vergossen” frequency rank
- 40907
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergessen | vergossen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Moment/bestimmter Situation nicht daran gedacht, nicht daran erinnert | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs vergießen |
Where the eye mixes vergessen and vergossen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergessen and vergossen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vergessen with vergossen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergessen is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩] while vergossen is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɔsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “vergessen” becomes o in “vergossen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergessen is recorded at frequency rank #625, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩]. vergossen is at rank #40,282, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɔsn̩].
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 40907, this pair ranks #1,494,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vergessen vs vergossen
Shared letters: egnrsv. Private to "vergessen": -. Private to "vergossen": o.
"vergessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vergossen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vergessen" and "vergossen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vergessen" vs "vergossen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vergossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,494,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergessen" and "vergossen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbissen vs vergossen". 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 #1,494,889 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.