verklagenvsvertragenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,700
“verklagen” frequency rank
#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
24181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verklagen vertragen
Definition einen Rechtsstreit vor Gericht mit jemandem beginnen eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können

Where the eye mixes verklagen and vertragen

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

9 ch
verklagen
9 ch
vertragen

Look-alike desk: verklagen vs vertragen

A purely visual mix-up. verklagen ([fɛɐ̯ˈklaːɡn̩]) and vertragen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 24181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verklagen is recorded at frequency rank #14,700, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈklaːɡn̩]. vertragen is at rank #9,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩].

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 24181, this pair ranks #1,851,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verklagen vs vertragen

Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "verklagen": kl. Private to "vertragen": t.

"verklagen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verklagen ← evrklagen · vekrlagen · verkalgen · verkklagen · verklaegn · verklagenn · verklaggen · verklagne
  • vertragen ← evrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verklagen" for "vertragen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈklaːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verklagen" or "vertragen"?
"vertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,481 in our German list, against #14,700 for "verklagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "verklagen" and "vertragen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verklagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,851,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verklagen" and "vertragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verjagen vs verklagen". 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 #1,851,256 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