VerhauenvsVerlagenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,538
“Verhauen” frequency rank
#24,177
“Verlagen” frequency rank
65715
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verhauen Verlagen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Verhau Dativ Plural des Substantivs Verlag

Where the eye mixes Verhauen and Verlagen

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

8 ch
Verhauen
8 ch
Verlagen

Visual trap between Verhauen and Verlagen

A purely visual mix-up. Verhauen ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaʊ̯ən]) and Verlagen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaːɡn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verhauen is recorded at frequency rank #41,538, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhaʊ̯ən]. Verlagen is at rank #24,177, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːɡn̩].

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 65715, this pair ranks #597,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Verhauen vs Verlagen

Shared letters: aenrv. Private to "Verhauen": hu. Private to "Verlagen": gl.

"Verhauen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC  ·  "Verlagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verhauenevrhauen · vehrauen · verahuen · verhaeun · verhauenn · verhaune · verhhauen · verhuaen
  • Verlagenevrlagen · velragen · veralgen · verlaegn · verlagenn · verlaggen · verlgaen · verllagen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verhauen" for "Verlagen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhaʊ̯ən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verhauen" vs "Verlagen" - which ranks higher?
"Verlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,177 in our German list, against #41,538 for "Verhauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verhauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verlagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #597,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verhauen" and "Verlagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs Verhauen". 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 #597,525 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