verlaufenvsverläuftWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,126
“verlaufen” frequency rank
#5,663
“verläuft” frequency rank
10789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlaufen verläuft
Definition irgendwohin gehen und sich dabei verirren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verlaufen and verläuft apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verlaufen
8 ch
verläuft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verlaufen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]) and verläuft ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɔɪ̯ft]) 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 10789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlaufen is recorded at frequency rank #5,126, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. verläuft is at rank #5,663, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɔɪ̯ft].

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 10789, this pair ranks #1,973,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlaufen vs verläuft

Shared letters: eflruv. Private to "verlaufen": an. Private to "verläuft": .

"verlaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verläuft" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlaufenevrlaufen · velraufen · veralufen · verlafuen · verlauefn · verlaufenn · verlauffen · verlaufne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlaufen" and "verläuft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaʊ̯fn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlɔɪ̯ft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verlaufen" or "verläuft"?
"verlaufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,126 in our German list, against #5,663 for "verläuft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list