verjagenvsVerlangenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verjagen is a verb, Verlangen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verjagen” is a verb and “Verlangen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,017
“verjagen” frequency rank
#2,272
“Verlangen” frequency rank
47289
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verjagen Verlangen
Definition jemanden gewaltsam vertreiben, verscheuchen stark ausgeprägter Wunsch; körperlicher, seelischer, geistiger Drang, einen empfundenen Mangel auszugleichen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verjagen and Verlangen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verjagen
9 ch
Verlangen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verjagen is [fɛɐ̯ˈjaːɡn̩] while Verlangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verjagen is recorded at frequency rank #45,017, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈjaːɡn̩]. Verlangen is at rank #2,272, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən].

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 47289, this pair ranks #1,289,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verjagen vs Verlangen

Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "verjagen": j. Private to "Verlangen": l.

"verjagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Verlangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verjagenevrjagen · vejragen · verajgen · verjaegn · verjagenn · verjaggen · verjagne · verjgaen
  • Verlangenevrlangen · velrangen · veralngen · verlagnen · verlanegn · verlangenn · verlanggen · verlangne

Frequency comparison

verjagen#45,017
Verlangen#2,272

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verjagen" and "Verlangen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verjagen" is a verb and "Verlangen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verjagen" or "Verlangen"?
"Verlangen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,272 in our German list, against #45,017 for "verjagen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering verjagen vs Verlangen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verjagen”; for a noun, it's “Verlangen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verjagen” 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