verhindernvsVerhinderungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,494
“verhindern” frequency rank
#15,777
“Verhinderung” frequency rank
17271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verhindern Verhinderung
Definition bewirken, dass etwas nicht geschieht oder dass jemand etwas nicht tun kann Zustand des Bewirkens oder Erleidens, dass etwas nicht möglich ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verhindern and Verhinderung apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verhindern
12 ch
Verhinderung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verhindern is [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn] while Verhinderung is [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndəʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verhindern is recorded at frequency rank #1,494, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]. Verhinderung is at rank #15,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndəʁʊŋ].

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 17271, this pair ranks #1,928,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verhindern vs Verhinderung

Shared letters: dehinrv. Private to "verhindern": -. Private to "Verhinderung": gu.

"verhindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Verhinderung" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verhindernevrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
  • Verhinderungevrhinderung · vehrinderung · verhhinderung · verhidnerung · verhindderung · verhindernug · verhinderrung · verhinderugn

Frequency comparison

verhindern#1,494
Verhinderung#15,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verhindern" and "Verhinderung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verhindern" is a verb and "Verhinderung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verhindern" or "Verhinderung"?
"verhindern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,494 in our German list, against #15,777 for "Verhinderung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering verhindern vs Verhinderung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verhindern”; for a noun, it's “Verhinderung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verhindern” 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