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 eye mixes verjagen and Verlangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verjagen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against Verlangen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verjagen vs Verlangen
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verjagen" and "Verlangen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verjagen" or "Verlangen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verjagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verlangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,289,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verjagen" and "Verlangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs verjagen". 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 #1,289,600 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.