Which to use
“Verlangen” is a noun and “versagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,272
- “Verlangen” frequency rank
- #6,119
- “versagen” frequency rank
- 8391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verlangen | versagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stark ausgeprägter Wunsch; körperlicher, seelischer, geistiger Drang, einen empfundenen Mangel auszugleichen | nicht so funktionieren, wie es geplant war oder üblich ist |
Where the eye mixes Verlangen and versagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Verlangen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against versagen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Verlangen with versagen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verlangen is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən] while versagen is [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩]. 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 8391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Verlangen is recorded at frequency rank #2,272, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaŋən]. versagen is at rank #6,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩].
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 8391, this pair ranks #1,984,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verlangen vs versagen
Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "Verlangen": l. Private to "versagen": s.
"Verlangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "versagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Verlangen" for "versagen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Verlangen" or "versagen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verlangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "versagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verlangen" and "versagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs versagen". 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 #1,984,481 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.