VerlegervsVersagerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,004
“Verleger” frequency rank
#16,311
“Versager” frequency rank
26315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verleger Versager
Definition Person, die einen Verlag betreibt Person, die sehr häufig nicht das Erwartete erfüllt

Where the eye mixes Verleger and Versager

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Verleger
8 ch
Versager

Look-alike desk: Verleger vs Versager

A purely visual mix-up. Verleger ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡɐ]) and Versager ([fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡɐ]) 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 26315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verleger is recorded at frequency rank #10,004, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡɐ]. Versager is at rank #16,311, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡɐ].

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 26315, this pair ranks #1,819,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verleger vs Versager

Shared letters: egrv. Private to "Verleger": l. Private to "Versager": as.

"Verleger" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Versager" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verlegerevrleger · velreger · verelger · verleegr · verlegerr · verlegger · verlegre · verlgeer
  • Versagerevrsager · verasger · verrsager · versaegr · versagerr · versagger · versagre · versgaer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verleger" and "Versager" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːɡɐ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Verleger" or "Versager"?
"Verleger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,004 in our German list, against #16,311 for "Versager". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verleger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Versager" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,819,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verleger" and "Versager" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verjagen vs Versager". 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 #1,819,992 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