Which to use
“Verlag” is a noun and “vorlag” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,528
- “Verlag” frequency rank
- #29,854
- “vorlag” frequency rank
- 31382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verlag | vorlag |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Unternehmen, das Werke der Literatur, Kunst, Musik oder Wissenschaft vervielfältigt und verbreitet | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorliegen |
Where the eye mixes Verlag and vorlag
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Verlag and vorlag follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Verlag and vorlag
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verlag is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːk] while vorlag is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Verlag” becomes o in “vorlag”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31382, 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]. vorlag is at rank #29,854, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk].
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 31382, this pair ranks #1,729,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verlag vs vorlag
Shared letters: aglrv. Private to "Verlag": e. Private to "vorlag": o.
"Verlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "vorlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Verlag" for "vorlag" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Verlag" or "vorlag"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorlag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,729,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verlag" and "vorlag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorbau vs vorlag". 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 #1,729,264 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.