Which to use
“verlaufe” is a verb and “Vorläufer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,548
- “verlaufe” frequency rank
- #17,179
- “Vorläufer” frequency rank
- 44727
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlaufe | Vorläufer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen | Wegbereiter |
Where the eye mixes verlaufe and Vorläufer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verlaufe runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against Vorläufer's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verlaufe with Vorläufer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verlaufe is [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fə] while Vorläufer is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɔɪ̯fɐ]. 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 44727, 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]. Vorläufer is at rank #17,179, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlɔɪ̯fɐ].
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 44727, this pair ranks #1,376,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verlaufe vs Vorläufer
Shared letters: eflruv. Private to "verlaufe": a. Private to "Vorläufer": oä.
"verlaufe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "Vorläufer" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verlaufe ← evrlaufe · velraufe · veralufe · verlafue · verlauef · verlauffe · verllaufe · verluafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verlaufe" and "Vorläufer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verlaufe" vs "Vorläufer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verlaufe" and "Vorläufer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlaufe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Vorläufer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,376,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlaufe" and "Vorläufer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlaufe vs verlauten". 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 #1,376,711 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.