vergessenevsvermessenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,751
“vergessene” frequency rank
#19,068
“vermessen” frequency rank
38819
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergessene vermessen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergessen übermäßig ehrgeizig und deshalb riskant

Where the eye mixes vergessene and vermessen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergessene runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCV) against vermessen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vergessene
9 ch
vermessen

Why the eye confuses vergessene with vermessen

A purely visual mix-up. vergessene ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsənə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergessene is recorded at frequency rank #19,751, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsənə]. 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 38819, this pair ranks #1,553,751 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vergessene vs vermessen

Shared letters: enrsv. Private to "vergessene": g. Private to "vermessen": m.

"vergessene" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "vermessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergessene ← evrgessene · vegressene · veregssene · vergesene · vergesesne · vergesseen · vergessenne · vergessnee
  • vermessen ← evrmessen · vemressen · veremssen · vermesen · vermesesn · vermessenn · vermessne · vermeßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vergessene" and "vermessen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡɛsənə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergessene" vs "vermessen" - which ranks higher?
"vermessen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,068 in our German list, against #19,751 for "vergessene". 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 "vergessene" 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 #1,553,751 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergessene" 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 #1,553,751 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