Which to use
“verhaften” and “verhüten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,752
- “verhaften” frequency rank
- #40,923
- “verhüten” frequency rank
- 60675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhaften | verhüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in Haft, in Gewahrsam nehmen | den Eintritt eines unerwünschten Ereignisses verhindern |
Where the eye mixes verhaften and verhüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verhaften runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verhüten's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verhaften vs verhüten
A purely visual mix-up. verhaften ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftn̩]) and verhüten ([fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtn̩]) 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 60675, 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]. verhüten is at rank #40,923, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtn̩].
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 60675, this pair ranks #778,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verhaften vs verhüten
Shared letters: ehnrtv. Private to "verhaften": af. Private to "verhüten": ü.
"verhaften" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verhüten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verhaften ← evrhaften · vehraften · verahften · verhafetn · verhafften · verhaftenn · verhaftne · verhaftten
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verhaften" and "verhüten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verhaften" vs "verhüten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhaften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #778,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhaften" and "verhüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhüten vs verorten". 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 #778,127 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.