Which to use
“vergessen” is an adjective and “verpassen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #625
- “vergessen” frequency rank
- #5,127
- “verpassen” frequency rank
- 5752
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergessen | verpassen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in Moment/bestimmter Situation nicht daran gedacht, nicht daran erinnert | ein Ereignis nicht miterleben |
Where the eye mixes vergessen and verpassen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vergessen and verpassen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergessen is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩] while verpassen is [fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergessen is recorded at frequency rank #625, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsn̩]. verpassen is at rank #5,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩].
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 5752, this pair ranks #1,993,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vergessen vs verpassen
Shared letters: enrsv. Private to "vergessen": g. Private to "verpassen": ap.
"vergessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verpassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vergessen" for "verpassen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "vergessen" vs "verpassen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "verpassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergessen" and "verpassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpass vs verpassen". 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 #1,993,834 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.