verkehrtenvsvermehrteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,520
“verkehrten” frequency rank
#27,115
“vermehrte” frequency rank
62635
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkehrten vermehrte
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verkehrt Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vermehrt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkehrten and vermehrte apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
verkehrten
9 ch
vermehrte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verkehrten ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩]) and vermehrte ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːɐ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkehrten is recorded at frequency rank #35,520, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩]. vermehrte is at rank #27,115, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːɐ̯tə].

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 62635, this pair ranks #705,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verkehrten vs vermehrte

Shared letters: ehrtv. Private to "verkehrten": kn. Private to "vermehrte": m.

"verkehrten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC  ·  "vermehrte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkehrtenevrkehrten · vekrehrten · verekhrten · verkehhrten · verkehretn · verkehrrten · verkehrtenn · verkehrtne
  • vermehrteevrmehrte · vemrehrte · veremhrte · vermehhrte · vermehret · vermehrrte · vermehrtte · vermehtre

Frequency comparison

verkehrten#35,520
vermehrte#27,115

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkehrten" and "vermehrte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkeːɐ̯tn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verkehrten" or "vermehrte"?
"vermehrte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,115 in our German list, against #35,520 for "verkehrten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkehrten vs vermehrte

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 “verkehrten” 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