VerkleidungvsVerleihungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#17,173
“Verkleidung” frequency rank
#8,477
“Verleihung” frequency rank
25650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verkleidung Verleihung
Definition Kleidungsstück(e), um in eine fremde Rolle zu schlüpfen zeitweise Überlassung

Where the eye mixes Verkleidung and Verleihung

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

11 ch
Verkleidung
10 ch
Verleihung

Why the eye confuses Verkleidung with Verleihung

A purely visual mix-up. Verkleidung ([fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dʊŋ]) and Verleihung ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ʊŋ]) 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 25650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verkleidung is recorded at frequency rank #17,173, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dʊŋ]. Verleihung is at rank #8,477, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ʊŋ].

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 25650, this pair ranks #1,830,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verkleidung vs Verleihung

Shared letters: egilnruv. Private to "Verkleidung": dk. Private to "Verleihung": h.

"Verkleidung" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCC  ·  "Verleihung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verkleidungevrkleidung · vekrleidung · verkelidung · verkkleidung · verklediung · verkleiddung · verkleidnug · verkleidugn
  • Verleihungevrleihung · velreihung · verelihung · verlehiung · verleihhung · verleihnug · verleihugn · verleihungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verkleidung" and "Verleihung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯dʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Verkleidung" or "Verleihung"?
"Verleihung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,477 in our German list, against #17,173 for "Verkleidung". 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 "Verkleidung" and "Verleihung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verkleidung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verleihung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,830,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verkleidung" and "Verleihung" 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 #1,830,071 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