Which to use
“vergiften” is a verb and “vergriffen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,560
- “vergiften” frequency rank
- #24,974
- “vergriffen” frequency rank
- 49534
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergiften | vergriffen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit Gift versehen | nicht mehr zu haben/kaufen, nicht mehr erhältlich/lieferbar/vorrätig, nicht länger im Angebot (häufig von Büchern, Zeitschriften und anderen Druckerzeugnissen) |
Where the eye mixes vergiften and vergriffen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergiften runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against vergriffen's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vergiften and vergriffen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergiften is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪftn̩] while vergriffen is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡʁɪfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergiften is recorded at frequency rank #24,560, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡɪftn̩]. vergriffen is at rank #24,974, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡʁɪfn̩].
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 49534, this pair ranks #1,207,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vergiften vs vergriffen
Shared letters: efginrv. Private to "vergiften": t. Private to "vergriffen": -.
"vergiften" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vergriffen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vergiften ← evrgiften · vegriften · vergfiten · verggiften · vergifetn · vergifften · vergiftenn · vergiftne
- vergriffen ← evrgriffen · vegrriffen · verggriffen · vergirffen · vergrfifen · vergrifefn · vergrifen · vergriffenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vergiften" and "vergriffen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "vergiften" or "vergriffen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "vergiften" and "vergriffen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergiften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vergriffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,207,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergiften" and "vergriffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vergiften vs vergifteten". 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 #1,207,904 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.