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 eye mixes verhindern and Verhinderung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verhindern runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against Verhinderung's 12 (CVCCVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verhindern vs Verhinderung
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
- verhindern ← evrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
- Verhinderung ← evrhinderung · vehrinderung · verhhinderung · verhidnerung · verhindderung · verhindernug · verhinderrung · verhinderugn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verhindern" and "Verhinderung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verhindern" or "Verhinderung" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhindern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verhinderung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,928,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhindern" and "Verhinderung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verhinderung vs Verminderung". 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 #1,928,866 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.