VerlagvsVerzugWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,528
“Verlag” frequency rank
#20,459
“Verzug” frequency rank
21987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verlag Verzug
Definition ein Unternehmen, das Werke der Literatur, Kunst, Musik oder Wissenschaft vervielfältigt und verbreitet Verspätung, Rückstand bei der Erfüllung einer ausstehenden Schuld oder Pflicht

Where the eye mixes Verlag and Verzug

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Verlag
6 ch
Verzug

Look-alike desk: Verlag vs Verzug

A purely visual mix-up. Verlag ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaːk]) and Verzug ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡suːk]) 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 21987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verlag is recorded at frequency rank #1,528, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːk]. Verzug is at rank #20,459, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡suːk].

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 21987, this pair ranks #1,879,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verlag vs Verzug

Shared letters: egrv. Private to "Verlag": al. Private to "Verzug": uz.

"Verlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Verzug" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verlagevrlag · velrag · veralg · verlagg · verlga · verllag · verrlag · vrelag
  • Verzugevrzug · verrzug · veruzg · verzgu · verzugg · verzzug · vezrug · vrezug

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Verlag" and "Verzug" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaːk] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡suːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Verlag" or "Verzug" show up more?
"Verlag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,528 in our German list, against #20,459 for "Verzug". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verzug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,879,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verlag" and "Verzug" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verruf vs Verzug". 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 #1,879,736 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