Which to use
“verhindern” and “verhungern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,494
- “verhindern” frequency rank
- #13,723
- “verhungern” frequency rank
- 15217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhindern | verhungern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewirken, dass etwas nicht geschieht oder dass jemand etwas nicht tun kann | aufgrund von Nahrungsmangel sterben |
Where the eye mixes verhindern and verhungern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verhindern and verhungern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verhindern and verhungern
A purely visual mix-up. verhindern ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]) and verhungern ([fɛɐ̯ˈhʊŋɐn]) 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 15217, 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]. verhungern is at rank #13,723, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhʊŋɐn].
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 15217, this pair ranks #1,945,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verhindern vs verhungern
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verhindern": di. Private to "verhungern": gu.
"verhindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "verhungern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verhindern ← evrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
- verhungern ← evrhungern · vehrungern · verhhungern · verhnugern · verhugnern · verhunegrn · verhungenr · verhungernn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verhindern" for "verhungern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verhindern" or "verhungern"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhindern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verhungern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,945,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhindern" and "verhungern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhungern vs verwundern". 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 #1,945,523 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.