VerhütungvsVermutungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,741
“Verhütung” frequency rank
#6,483
“Vermutung” frequency rank
25224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verhütung Vermutung
Definition Einsatz von Mitteln, um ein unerwünschtes Ereignis zu verhindern eine ungesicherte Erkenntnis oder Annahme

Where the eye mixes Verhütung and Vermutung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Verhütung and Vermutung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
Verhütung
9 ch
Vermutung

Why the eye confuses Verhütung with Vermutung

A purely visual mix-up. Verhütung ([fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ]) and Vermutung ([fɛɐ̯ˈmuːtʊŋ]) 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 25224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verhütung is recorded at frequency rank #18,741, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ]. Vermutung is at rank #6,483, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmuːtʊŋ].

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 25224, this pair ranks #1,836,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verhütung vs Vermutung

Shared letters: egnrtuv. Private to "Verhütung": hü. Private to "Vermutung": m.

"Verhütung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "Vermutung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vermutung ← evrmutung · vemrutung · vermmutung · vermtuung · vermutnug · vermuttung · vermutugn · vermutungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verhütung" for "Vermutung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈhyːtʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmuːtʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Verhütung" or "Vermutung" show up more?
"Vermutung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,483 in our German list, against #18,741 for "Verhütung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verhütung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vermutung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,836,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verhütung" and "Vermutung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhüten vs Verhütung". 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 #1,836,358 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list