verhörenvsverlorenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,913
“verhören” frequency rank
#739
“verloren” frequency rank
43652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verhören verloren
Definition jemanden einem Verhör unterziehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verlieren

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
verhören
8 ch
verloren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verhören ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən]) and verloren ([fɛɐ̯ˈloːʁən]) 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 43652, 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]. verloren is at rank #739, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈloːʁən].

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 43652, this pair ranks #1,411,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verhören vs verloren

Shared letters: enrv. Private to "verhören": . Private to "verloren": lo.

"verhören" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verloren" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlorenevrloren · velroren · verlloren · verloern · verlorenn · verlorne · verlorren · verlroen

Frequency comparison

verhören#42,913
verloren#739

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verhören" and "verloren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhøːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈloːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verhören" or "verloren"?
"verloren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #739 in our German list, against #42,913 for "verhören". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering verhören vs verloren

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