VerlagenvsverlaufenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,177
“Verlagen” frequency rank
#5,126
“verlaufen” frequency rank
29303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verlagen verlaufen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Verlag irgendwohin gehen und sich dabei verirren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Verlagen and verlaufen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Verlagen
9 ch
verlaufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verlagen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːɡn̩] while verlaufen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verlagen is recorded at frequency rank #24,177, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaːɡn̩]. verlaufen is at rank #5,126, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩].

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 29303, this pair ranks #1,769,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verlagen vs verlaufen

Shared letters: aelnrv. Private to "Verlagen": g. Private to "verlaufen": fu.

"Verlagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verlaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verlagenevrlagen · velragen · veralgen · verlaegn · verlagenn · verlaggen · verlgaen · verllagen
  • verlaufenevrlaufen · velraufen · veralufen · verlafuen · verlauefn · verlaufenn · verlauffen · verlaufne

Frequency comparison

Verlagen#24,177
verlaufen#5,126

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Verlagen" and "verlaufen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Verlagen" is a noun and "verlaufen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Verlagen" or "verlaufen"?
"verlaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,126 in our German list, against #24,177 for "Verlagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Verlagen vs verlaufen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Verlagen”; for a verb, it's “verlaufen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Verlagen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list