Which to use
“verlegen” and “verleugnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,482
- “verlegen” frequency rank
- #26,218
- “verleugnen” frequency rank
- 32700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlegen | verleugnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache an einem Ort ablegen, an den man sich später nicht mehr erinnern kann (meist im Nachhinein benutzt: verlegt haben) | absichtlich sich nicht zu einem tatsächlichen Sachverhalt bekennen |
Where the eye mixes verlegen and verleugnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verlegen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verleugnen's 10 (CVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verlegen and verleugnen
A purely visual mix-up. verlegen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and verleugnen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɔɪ̯ɡnən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32700, 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]. verleugnen is at rank #26,218, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɔɪ̯ɡnən].
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 32700, this pair ranks #1,701,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verlegen vs verleugnen
Shared letters: eglnrv. Private to "verlegen": -. Private to "verleugnen": u.
"verlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "verleugnen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verlegen ← evrlegen · velregen · verelgen · verleegn · verlegenn · verleggen · verlegne · verlgeen
- verleugnen ← evrleugnen · velreugnen · verelugnen · verlegunen · verleugenn · verleuggnen · verleugnenn · verleugnne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verlegen" and "verleugnen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verlegen" or "verleugnen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verleugnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,701,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlegen" and "verleugnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verleugnen vs verleugnet". 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 #1,701,931 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.