VerhaftungvsVerhaftungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,961
“Verhaftung” frequency rank
#27,544
“Verhaftungen” frequency rank
38505
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verhaftung Verhaftungen
Definition Vollzug eines Haftbefehls, Führung in Polizeigewahrsam Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Verhaftung

Where the eye mixes Verhaftung and Verhaftungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Verhaftung runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against Verhaftungen's 12 (CVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Verhaftung
12 ch
Verhaftungen

Why the eye confuses Verhaftung with Verhaftungen

A purely visual mix-up. Verhaftung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]) and Verhaftungen ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Verhaftung” sits inside “Verhaftungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verhaftung is recorded at frequency rank #10,961, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]. Verhaftungen is at rank #27,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋən].

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 38505, this pair ranks #1,562,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verhaftung vs Verhaftungen

Shared letters: aefghnrtuv. Private to "Verhaftung": -. Private to "Verhaftungen": -.

"Verhaftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Verhaftungen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verhaftung ← evrhaftung · vehraftung · verahftung · verhafftung · verhaftnug · verhafttung · verhaftugn · verhaftungg
  • Verhaftungen ← evrhaftungen · vehraftungen · verahftungen · verhafftungen · verhaftnugen · verhafttungen · verhaftugnen · verhaftunegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verhaftung" for "Verhaftungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verhaftung" vs "Verhaftungen" - which ranks higher?
"Verhaftung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,961 in our German list, against #27,544 for "Verhaftungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verhaftung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verhaftungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,562,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verhaftung" and "Verhaftungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergiftungen vs Verhaftungen". 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 #1,562,193 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