vergütetvsverwüstetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,840
“vergütet” frequency rank
#21,120
“verwüstet” frequency rank
51960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergütet verwüstet
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergüten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verwüsten

Where the eye mixes vergütet and verwüstet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vergütet runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verwüstet's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
vergütet
9 ch
verwüstet

Look-alike desk: vergütet vs verwüstet

A purely visual mix-up. vergütet ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtət]) and verwüstet ([fɛɐ̯ˈvyːstət]) 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 51960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergütet is recorded at frequency rank #30,840, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtət]. verwüstet is at rank #21,120, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvyːstət].

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 51960, this pair ranks #1,115,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vergütet vs verwüstet

Shared letters: ertvü. Private to "vergütet": g. Private to "verwüstet": sw.

"vergütet" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verwüstet" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vergütet" and "verwüstet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtət] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈvyːstət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergütet" vs "verwüstet" - which ranks higher?
"verwüstet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,120 in our German list, against #30,840 for "vergütet". 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 "vergütet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verwüstet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,115,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergütet" and "verwüstet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdutzt vs vergütet". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,115,358 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