verlassenvsverlässtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#981
“verlassen” frequency rank
#3,860
“verlässt” frequency rank
4841
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlassen verlässt
Definition weggehen, sich entfernen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlassen

Where the eye mixes verlassen and verlässt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

9 ch
verlassen
8 ch
verlässt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verlassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]) and verlässt ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlassen is recorded at frequency rank #981, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]. verlässt is at rank #3,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst].

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 4841, this pair ranks #1,996,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlassen vs verlässt

Shared letters: elrsv. Private to "verlassen": an. Private to "verlässt": .

"verlassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verlässt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlassenevrlassen · velrassen · veralssen · verlasen · verlasesn · verlassenn · verlassne · verlaßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlassen" and "verlässt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verlassen" or "verlässt"?
"verlassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #981 in our German list, against #3,860 for "verlässt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "verlassen" and "verlässt". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verlassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlässt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlassen" and "verlässt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlässt vs verpass". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list