verkleidenvsVerkleidungConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#22,948
“verkleiden” frequency rank
#17,173
“Verkleidung” frequency rank
40121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkleiden Verkleidung
Definition sich mit einem Kostüm versehen; kostümieren; formelle Kleidung anziehen Kleidungsstück(e), um in eine fremde Rolle zu schlüpfen

Where the eye mixes verkleiden and Verkleidung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verkleiden runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCVC) against Verkleidung's 11 (CVCCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
verkleiden
11 ch
Verkleidung

Look-alike desk: verkleiden vs Verkleidung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkleiden is [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dn̩] while Verkleidung is [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dʊŋ]. 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 40121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkleiden is recorded at frequency rank #22,948, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dn̩]. Verkleidung is at rank #17,173, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dʊŋ].

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 40121, this pair ranks #1,517,485 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkleiden vs Verkleidung

Shared letters: deiklnrv. Private to "verkleiden": -. Private to "Verkleidung": gu.

"verkleiden" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "Verkleidung" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkleidenevrkleiden · vekrleiden · verkeliden · verkkleiden · verkledien · verkleidden · verkleidenn · verkleidne
  • Verkleidungevrkleidung · vekrleidung · verkelidung · verkkleidung · verklediung · verkleiddung · verkleidnug · verkleidugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkleiden" and "Verkleidung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verkleiden" is a verb and "Verkleidung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "verkleiden" vs "Verkleidung" - which ranks higher?
"Verkleidung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,173 in our German list, against #22,948 for "verkleiden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verkleiden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verkleidung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,517,485 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verkleiden" and "Verkleidung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verkleidung vs Verkleidungen". 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 #1,517,485 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