verleihvsverleihenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#28,000
“verleih” frequency rank
#7,415
“verleihen” frequency rank
35415
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verleih verleihen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verleihen etwas zeitweise jemandem überlassen

Where the eye mixes verleih and verleihen

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

7 ch
verleih
9 ch
verleihen

Why the eye confuses verleih with verleihen

A purely visual mix-up. verleih ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯]) and verleihen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “verleih” sits inside “verleihen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verleih is recorded at frequency rank #28,000, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯]. verleihen is at rank #7,415, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən].

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 35415, this pair ranks #1,640,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verleih vs verleihen

Shared letters: ehilrv. Private to "verleih": -. Private to "verleihen": n.

"verleih" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "verleihen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verleih ← evrleih · velreih · verelih · verlehi · verleihh · verlleih · verrleih · vreleih
  • verleihen ← evrleihen · velreihen · verelihen · verlehien · verleiehn · verleihenn · verleihhen · verleihne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verleih" for "verleihen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verleih" or "verleihen"?
"verleihen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,415 in our German list, against #28,000 for "verleih". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verleih" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verleihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,640,571 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verleih" and "verleihen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verleih vs verzeihe". 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 #1,640,571 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