verhörenvsverirrenWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

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

8 ch
verhören
8 ch
verirren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": . Private to "verirren": i.

"verhören" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verirren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verirrenevrirren · veirrren · veriren · verirern · verirrenn · verirrne · verriren · verrirren

Frequency comparison

verhören#42,913
verirren#40,924

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verhören" and "verirren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verhören" or "verirren"?
"verirren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,924 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 verirren

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