verirrtvsvertratWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,175
“verirrt” frequency rank
#13,728
“vertrat” frequency rank
37903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verirrt vertrat
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verirren 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs vertreten

Where the eye mixes verirrt and vertrat

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
verirrt
7 ch
vertrat

Why the eye confuses verirrt with vertrat

A purely visual mix-up. verirrt ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁt]) and vertrat ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːt]) 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 37903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verirrt is recorded at frequency rank #24,175, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁt]. vertrat is at rank #13,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːt].

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 37903, this pair ranks #1,578,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verirrt vs vertrat

Shared letters: ertv. Private to "verirrt": i. Private to "vertrat": a.

"verirrt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "vertrat" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verirrtevrirrt · veirrrt · verirrtt · verirt · verirtr · verrirrt · verrirt · vreirrt
  • vertratevrtrat · verrtat · verrtrat · vertart · vertratt · vertrrat · vertrta · verttrat

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verirrt" for "vertrat" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɪʁt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verirrt" or "vertrat"?
"vertrat" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,728 in our German list, against #24,175 for "verirrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "verirrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertrat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,578,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verirrt" and "vertrat" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verirrt vs verirrte". 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 #1,578,060 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