vergleichevsvergleichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,871
“vergleiche” frequency rank
#3,002
“vergleichen” frequency rank
9873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergleiche vergleichen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergleichen zwei oder mehrere Dinge auf Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede prüfen

Where the eye mixes vergleiche and vergleichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vergleiche runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCCV) against vergleichen's 11 (CVCCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vergleiche
11 ch
vergleichen

Why the eye confuses vergleiche with vergleichen

A purely visual mix-up. vergleiche ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çə]) and vergleichen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “vergleiche” sits inside “vergleichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergleiche is recorded at frequency rank #6,871, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çə]. vergleichen is at rank #3,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩].

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 9873, this pair ranks #1,977,891 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vergleiche vs vergleichen

Shared letters: ceghilrv. Private to "vergleiche": -. Private to "vergleichen": n.

"vergleiche" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCV  ·  "vergleichen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergleicheevrgleiche · vegrleiche · vergeliche · verggleiche · verglecihe · vergleicche · vergleiceh · vergleichhe
  • vergleichenevrgleichen · vegrleichen · vergelichen · verggleichen · verglecihen · vergleicchen · vergleicehn · vergleichenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vergleiche" and "vergleichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡlaɪ̯çn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergleiche" vs "vergleichen" - which ranks higher?
"vergleichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,002 in our German list, against #6,871 for "vergleiche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vergleiche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vergleichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,977,891 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergleiche" and "vergleichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vergleiche vs Vergleichs". 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 #1,977,891 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