verlangevsVerlangenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,584
“verlange” frequency rank
#2,272
“Verlangen” frequency rank
18856
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlange Verlangen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlangen stark ausgeprägter Wunsch; körperlicher, seelischer, geistiger Drang, einen empfundenen Mangel auszugleichen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verlange and Verlangen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verlange
9 ch
Verlangen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

verlange and Verlangen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “verlange” sits inside “Verlangen” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18856, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlange is recorded at frequency rank #16,584, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋə]. Verlangen is at rank #2,272, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən].

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 18856, this pair ranks #1,914,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

verlange#16,584
Verlangen#2,272

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlange" and "Verlangen" be used interchangeably?
No, "verlange" and "Verlangen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering verlange vs Verlangen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verlange”; for a noun, it's “Verlangen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verlange” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list