verlegenvsverzogenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,482
“verlegen” frequency rank
#27,555
“verzogen” frequency rank
34037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlegen verzogen
Definition eine Sache an einem Ort ablegen, an den man sich später nicht mehr erinnern kann (meist im Nachhinein benutzt: verlegt haben) 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verziehen

Where the eye mixes verlegen and verzogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verlegen and verzogen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
verlegen
8 ch
verzogen

Look-alike desk: verlegen vs verzogen

A purely visual mix-up. verlegen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and verzogen ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡soːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34037, 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]. verzogen is at rank #27,555, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡soːɡn̩].

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 34037, this pair ranks #1,672,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlegen vs verzogen

Shared letters: egnrv. Private to "verlegen": l. Private to "verzogen": oz.

"verlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verzogen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlegen ← evrlegen · velregen · verelgen · verleegn · verlegenn · verleggen · verlegne · verlgeen
  • verzogen ← evrzogen · verozgen · verrzogen · verzgoen · verzoegn · verzogenn · verzoggen · verzogne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verlegen" for "verzogen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡soːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verlegen" or "verzogen" show up more?
"verlegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,482 in our German list, against #27,555 for "verzogen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "verzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,672,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlegen" and "verzogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verzogen vs Vorzügen". 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 #1,672,399 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