verhörenvsverhörtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“verhören” and “verhört” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,913
“verhören” frequency rank
#24,174
“verhört” frequency rank
67087
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verhören verhört
Definition jemanden einem Verhör unterziehen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verhören

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verhören and verhört apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verhören
7 ch
verhört

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verhören ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]) and verhört ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verhören is recorded at frequency rank #42,913, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]. verhört is at rank #24,174, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t].

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 67087, this pair ranks #551,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verhören vs verhört

Shared letters: ehrvö. Private to "verhören": n. Private to "verhört": t.

"verhören" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verhört" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

verhören#42,913
verhört#24,174

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verhören" and "verhört" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verhören" or "verhört"?
"verhört" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,174 in our German list, against #42,913 for "verhören". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verhören vs verhört

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verhören” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list