VerhaftungvsVerhütungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,961
“Verhaftung” frequency rank
#18,741
“Verhütung” frequency rank
29702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verhaftung Verhütung
Definition Vollzug eines Haftbefehls, Führung in Polizeigewahrsam Einsatz von Mitteln, um ein unerwünschtes Ereignis zu verhindern

Where the eye mixes Verhaftung and Verhütung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Verhaftung runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against Verhütung's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Verhaftung
9 ch
Verhütung

Look-alike desk: Verhaftung vs Verhütung

A purely visual mix-up. Verhaftung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ]) and Verhütung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ]) 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 29702, 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]. Verhütung is at rank #18,741, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ].

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 29702, this pair ranks #1,761,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verhaftung vs Verhütung

Shared letters: eghnrtuv. Private to "Verhaftung": af. Private to "Verhütung": ü.

"Verhaftung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Verhütung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verhaftung ← evrhaftung · vehraftung · verahftung · verhafftung · verhaftnug · verhafttung · verhaftugn · verhaftungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verhaftung" for "Verhütung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaftʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Verhaftung" or "Verhütung"?
"Verhaftung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,961 in our German list, against #18,741 for "Verhütung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Verhaftung" and "Verhütung" 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 "Verhütung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,761,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verhaftung" and "Verhütung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhüten vs Verhütung". 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 #1,761,839 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