verhaftenvsVerhaftungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verhaften is a verb, Verhaftung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verhaften” is a verb and “Verhaftung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,752
“verhaften” frequency rank
#10,961
“Verhaftung” frequency rank
30713
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verhaften Verhaftung
Definition jemanden in Haft, in Gewahrsam nehmen Vollzug eines Haftbefehls, Führung in Polizeigewahrsam

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verhaften and Verhaftung apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verhaften
10 ch
Verhaftung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verhaften is [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftn̩] while Verhaftung is [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verhaften is recorded at frequency rank #19,752, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftn̩]. Verhaftung is at rank #10,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ].

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 30713, this pair ranks #1,742,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verhaften vs Verhaftung

Shared letters: aefhnrtv. Private to "verhaften": -. Private to "Verhaftung": gu.

"verhaften" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "Verhaftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verhaftenevrhaften · vehraften · verahften · verhafetn · verhafften · verhaftenn · verhaftne · verhaftten
  • Verhaftungevrhaftung · vehraftung · verahftung · verhafftung · verhaftnug · verhafttung · verhaftugn · verhaftungg

Frequency comparison

verhaften#19,752
Verhaftung#10,961

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verhaften" and "Verhaftung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verhaften" is a verb and "Verhaftung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verhaften" or "Verhaftung"?
"Verhaftung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,961 in our German list, against #19,752 for "verhaften". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verhaften vs Verhaftung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verhaften”; for a noun, it's “Verhaftung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verhaften” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list