verlegenvsverlierenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,482
“verlegen” frequency rank
#1,375
“verlieren” frequency rank
7857
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlegen verlieren
Definition eine Sache an einem Ort ablegen, an den man sich später nicht mehr erinnern kann (meist im Nachhinein benutzt: verlegt haben) etwas irgendwo hinlegen und es später nicht mehr wiederfinden

Where the eye mixes verlegen and verlieren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verlegen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verlieren's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verlegen
9 ch
verlieren

Why the eye confuses verlegen with verlieren

A purely visual mix-up. verlegen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and verlieren ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən]) 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 7857, 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]. verlieren is at rank #1,375, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən].

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 7857, this pair ranks #1,986,610 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlegen vs verlieren

Shared letters: elnrv. Private to "verlegen": g. Private to "verlieren": i.

"verlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verlieren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlegenevrlegen · velregen · verelgen · verleegn · verlegenn · verleggen · verlegne · verlgeen
  • verlierenevrlieren · velrieren · verileren · verleiren · verlieern · verlierenn · verlierne · verlierren

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verlegen" and "verlieren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verlegen" or "verlieren"?
"verlieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,375 in our German list, against #6,482 for "verlegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "verlegen" and "verlieren" 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 "verlieren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,986,610 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlegen" and "verlieren" 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 #1,986,610 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