Which to use
“verkommen” and “vorkommen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,766
- “verkommen” frequency rank
- #3,626
- “vorkommen” frequency rank
- 27392
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkommen | vorkommen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schlecht werden | sich nach vorn bewegen |
Where the eye mixes verkommen and vorkommen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verkommen and vorkommen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verkommen with vorkommen
A purely visual mix-up. verkommen ([fɛɐ̯ˈkɔmən]) and vorkommen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]) 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 a single letter - e in “verkommen” becomes o in “vorkommen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verkommen is recorded at frequency rank #23,766, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkɔmən]. vorkommen is at rank #3,626, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən].
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 27392, this pair ranks #1,802,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verkommen vs vorkommen
Shared letters: ekmnorv. Private to "verkommen": -. Private to "vorkommen": -.
"verkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vorkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verkommen" and "vorkommen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verkommen" or "vorkommen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verkommen" and "vorkommen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verkommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorkommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,802,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkommen" and "vorkommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verkommen vs verkommt". 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 #1,802,507 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.