Which to use
“verhindern” and “verringern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,494
- “verhindern” frequency rank
- #9,291
- “verringern” frequency rank
- 10785
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhindern | verringern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bewirken, dass etwas nicht geschieht oder dass jemand etwas nicht tun kann | etwas kleiner, weniger machen |
Where the eye mixes verhindern and verringern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verhindern and verringern 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 verringern
A purely visual mix-up. verhindern ([fɛɐ̯ˈhɪndɐn]) and verringern ([fɛɐ̯ˈʁɪŋɐn]) 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 10785, 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]. verringern is at rank #9,291, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʁɪŋɐn].
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 10785, this pair ranks #1,973,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verhindern vs verringern
Shared letters: einrv. Private to "verhindern": dh. Private to "verringern": g.
"verhindern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "verringern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verhindern ← evrhindern · vehrindern · verhhindern · verhidnern · verhinddern · verhindenr · verhindernn · verhinderrn
- verringern ← evrringern · veringern · verirngern · verrignern · verrinegrn · verringenr · verringernn · verringerrn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verhindern" for "verringern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verhindern" or "verringern"?
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 "verringern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhindern" and "verringern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verringern vs verringerten". 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 #1,973,321 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.