verlegenvsverlesenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,482
“verlegen” frequency rank
#19,753
“verlesen” frequency rank
26235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlegen verlesen
Definition eine Sache an einem Ort ablegen, an den man sich später nicht mehr erinnern kann (meist im Nachhinein benutzt: verlegt haben) einen Fehler beim Lesen machen; etwas falsch lesen; ein oder mehrere Worte beim Lesen verwechseln

Where the eye mixes verlegen and verlesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
verlegen
8 ch
verlesen

Look-alike desk: verlegen vs verlesen

A purely visual mix-up. verlegen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and verlesen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩]) 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 - g in “verlegen” becomes s in “verlesen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlegen is recorded at frequency rank #6,482, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]. verlesen is at rank #19,753, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩].

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 26235, this pair ranks #1,821,180 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlegen vs verlesen

Shared letters: elnrv. Private to "verlegen": g. Private to "verlesen": s.

"verlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlegenevrlegen · velregen · verelgen · verleegn · verlegenn · verleggen · verlegne · verlgeen
  • verlesenevrlesen · velresen · verelsen · verleesn · verlesenn · verlesne · verlessen · verllesen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlegen" and "verlesen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verlegen" or "verlesen"?
"verlegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,482 in our German list, against #19,753 for "verlesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "verlegen" and "verlesen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,821,180 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlegen" and "verlesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlesen vs vermiesen". 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 #1,821,180 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