Which to use
“verhören” and “verirren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,913
- “verhören” frequency rank
- #40,924
- “verirren” frequency rank
- 83837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verhören | verirren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden einem Verhör unterziehen | sich ungewollt vom richtigen Weg entfernen und sich nicht mehr auskennen; durch Zufall, ohne Absicht an eine bestimmte Stelle kommen |
Where the eye mixes verhören and verirren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verhören (CVCCVCVC) and verirren (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verhören with verirren
A purely visual mix-up. verhören ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]) and verirren ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁən]) 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 83837, 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]. verirren is at rank #40,924, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁən].
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 83837, this pair ranks #133,336 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of verhören vs verirren
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "verhören": hö. Private to "verirren": i.
"verhören" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "verirren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verirren ← evrirren · veirrren · veriren · verirern · verirrenn · verirrne · verriren · verrirren
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verhören" and "verirren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verhören" vs "verirren" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verhören" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verirren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #133,336 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verhören" and "verirren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhören vs verworren". 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 #133,336 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.