Which to use
“vergessen” and “vermessen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #625
- “vergessen” frequency rank
- #19,068
- “vermessen” frequency rank
- 19693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergessen | vermessen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Moment/bestimmter Situation nicht daran gedacht, nicht daran erinnert | übermäßig ehrgeizig und deshalb riskant |
Where the eye mixes vergessen and vermessen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergessen and vermessen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between vergessen and vermessen
A purely visual mix-up. vergessen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩]) and vermessen ([fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩]) 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 a single letter - g in “vergessen” becomes m in “vermessen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergessen is recorded at frequency rank #625, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩]. vermessen is at rank #19,068, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩].
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 19693, this pair ranks #1,905,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vergessen vs vermessen
Shared letters: enrsv. Private to "vergessen": g. Private to "vermessen": m.
"vergessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vermessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vergessen" for "vermessen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vergessen" or "vermessen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vergessen" and "vermessen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vermessen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,905,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergessen" and "vermessen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermessen vs vermiesen". 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 #1,905,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.