verharrenvsverhörenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,434
“verharren” frequency rank
#42,913
“verhören” frequency rank
77347
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verharren verhören
Definition seinen Zustand / seine Stellung nicht ändern jemanden einem Verhör unterziehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verharren and verhören apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verharren
8 ch
verhören

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verharren ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaʁən]) and verhören ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]) 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 77347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verharren is recorded at frequency rank #34,434, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaʁən]. verhören is at rank #42,913, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən].

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 77347, this pair ranks #262,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of verharren vs verhören

Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verharren": a. Private to "verhören": ö.

"verharren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verhören" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verharrenevrharren · vehrarren · verahrren · verharen · verharern · verharrenn · verharrne · verhharren

Frequency comparison

verharren#34,434
verhören#42,913

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verharren" and "verhören" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verharren" or "verhören"?
"verharren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,434 in our German list, against #42,913 for "verhören". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verharren vs verhören

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verharren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list