verhängtvsVorhängeWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#12,819
“verhängt” frequency rank
#18,755
“Vorhänge” frequency rank
31574
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verhängt Vorhänge
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verhängen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorhang

Where the eye mixes verhängt and Vorhänge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verhängt (CVCCVCCC) and Vorhänge (CVCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
verhängt
8 ch
Vorhänge

Why the eye confuses verhängt with Vorhänge

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verhängt is [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋt] while Vorhänge is [ˈfoːɐ̯hɛŋə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verhängt is recorded at frequency rank #12,819, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɛŋt]. Vorhänge is at rank #18,755, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯hɛŋə].

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 31574, this pair ranks #1,725,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verhängt vs Vorhänge

Shared letters: eghnrvä. Private to "verhängt": t. Private to "Vorhänge": o.

"verhängt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "Vorhänge" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verhängt" for "Vorhänge" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verhängt" is a verb and "Vorhänge" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "verhängt" vs "Vorhänge" - which ranks higher?
"verhängt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,819 in our German list, against #18,755 for "Vorhänge". 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 "verhängt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorhänge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,725,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verhängt" and "Vorhänge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorgangs vs Vorhänge". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,725,363 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