Which to use
“verlaufe” is a verb and “Vorlauf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- #22,957
- “Vorlauf” frequency rank
- 50505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlaufe | Vorlauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen | die normale Laufrichtung |
Where the eye mixes verlaufe and Vorlauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verlaufe runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against Vorlauf's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verlaufe and Vorlauf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verlaufe is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə] while Vorlauf is [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verlaufe is recorded at frequency rank #27,548, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə]. Vorlauf is at rank #22,957, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f].
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 50505, this pair ranks #1,171,165 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verlaufe vs Vorlauf
Shared letters: aflruv. Private to "verlaufe": e. Private to "Vorlauf": o.
"verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "Vorlauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verlaufe" and "Vorlauf" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verlaufe" or "Vorlauf"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlaufe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Vorlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,171,165 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlaufe" and "Vorlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vollauf vs Vorlauf". 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 #1,171,165 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.