Which to use
“Verhaftung” and “Verhängung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,961
- “Verhaftung” frequency rank
- #41,540
- “Verhängung” frequency rank
- 52501
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verhaftung | Verhängung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vollzug eines Haftbefehls, Führung in Polizeigewahrsam | Anordnung einer Buße oder Strafe |
Where the eye mixes Verhaftung and Verhängung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Verhaftung and Verhängung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Verhaftung with Verhängung
A purely visual mix-up. Verhaftung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]) and Verhängung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52501, 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]. Verhängung is at rank #41,540, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋʊŋ].
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 52501, this pair ranks #1,094,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Verhaftung vs Verhängung
Shared letters: eghnruv. Private to "Verhaftung": aft. Private to "Verhängung": ä.
"Verhaftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "Verhängung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Verhaftung ← evrhaftung · vehraftung · verahftung · verhafftung · verhaftnug · verhafttung · verhaftugn · verhaftungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Verhaftung" and "Verhängung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Verhaftung" or "Verhängung" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Verhaftung" and "Verhängung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verhaftung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verhängung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,094,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verhaftung" and "Verhängung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verengung vs Verhängung". 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 #1,094,281 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.