Which to use
“verlassen” and “verpassen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #981
- “verlassen” frequency rank
- #5,127
- “verpassen” frequency rank
- 6108
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlassen | verpassen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weggehen, sich entfernen | ein Ereignis nicht miterleben |
Where the eye mixes verlassen and verpassen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. verlassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]) and verpassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩]) 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 a single letter - l in “verlassen” becomes p in “verpassen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verlassen is recorded at frequency rank #981, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlasn̩]. verpassen is at rank #5,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩].
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 6108, this pair ranks #1,992,691 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verlassen vs verpassen
Shared letters: aenrsv. Private to "verlassen": l. Private to "verpassen": p.
"verlassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verpassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC