Which to use
“verlegen” and “verliehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,482
- “verlegen” frequency rank
- #5,662
- “verliehen” frequency rank
- 12144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlegen | verliehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Sache an einem Ort ablegen, an den man sich später nicht mehr erinnern kann (meist im Nachhinein benutzt: verlegt haben) | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verleihen |
Where the eye mixes verlegen and verliehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verlegen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verliehen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verlegen vs verliehen
A purely visual mix-up. verlegen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and verliehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːən]) 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 12144, 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]. verliehen is at rank #5,662, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːən].
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 12144, this pair ranks #1,965,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verlegen vs verliehen
Shared letters: elnrv. Private to "verlegen": g. Private to "verliehen": hi.
"verlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "verliehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verlegen" for "verliehen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verlegen" or "verliehen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verliehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,965,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlegen" and "verliehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlegen vs verlogene". 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 #1,965,930 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.