verlässtvsverpassWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,860
“verlässt” frequency rank
#45,020
“verpass” frequency rank
48880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlässt verpass
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlassen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verpassen

Where the eye mixes verlässt and verpass

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. verlässt runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCC) against verpass's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verlässt
7 ch
verpass

Visual trap between verlässt and verpass

A purely visual mix-up. verlässt ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]) and verpass ([fɛɐ̯ˈpas]) 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 48880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlässt is recorded at frequency rank #3,860, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst]. verpass is at rank #45,020, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈpas].

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 48880, this pair ranks #1,232,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verlässt vs verpass

Shared letters: ersv. Private to "verlässt": ltä. Private to "verpass": ap.

"verlässt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "verpass" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verpass ← evrpass · veprass · verapss · verpas · verpaß · verppass · verpsas · verrpass

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verlässt" for "verpass" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɛst] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈpas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verlässt" or "verpass" show up more?
"verlässt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,860 in our German list, against #45,020 for "verpass". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verlässt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verpass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,232,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlässt" and "verpass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpass vs Verrats". 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 #1,232,089 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list