Which to use
“verhindern” and “vermindern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,494
- “verhindern” frequency rank
- #30,360
- “vermindern” frequency rank
- 31854
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhindern | vermindern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewirken, dass etwas nicht geschieht oder dass jemand etwas nicht tun kann | kleiner/weniger/geringer machen |
Where the eye mixes verhindern and vermindern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verhindern and vermindern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verhindern with vermindern
A purely visual mix-up. verhindern ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]) and vermindern ([fɛɐ̯ˈmɪndɐn]) 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 a single letter - h in “verhindern” becomes m in “vermindern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31854, 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]. vermindern is at rank #30,360, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪndɐn].
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 31854, this pair ranks #1,719,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verhindern vs vermindern
Shared letters: deinrv. Private to "verhindern": h. Private to "vermindern": m.
"verhindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "vermindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verhindern ← evrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
- vermindern ← evrmindern · vemrindern · verimndern · vermidnern · verminddern · vermindenr · vermindernn · verminderrn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verhindern" for "vermindern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verhindern" or "vermindern"?
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 "vermindern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,719,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhindern" and "vermindern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermindern 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 #1,719,687 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.