Which to use
“verleih” and “verzeih” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,000
- “verleih” frequency rank
- #30,369
- “verzeih” frequency rank
- 58369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verleih | verzeih |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verleihen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verzeihen |
Where the eye mixes verleih and verzeih
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verleih and verzeih follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verleih with verzeih
A purely visual mix-up. verleih ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯]) and verzeih ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯]) 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 a single letter - l in “verleih” becomes z in “verzeih”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58369, 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]. verzeih is at rank #30,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯].
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 58369, this pair ranks #865,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verleih vs verzeih
Shared letters: ehirv. Private to "verleih": l. Private to "verzeih": z.
"verleih" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "verzeih" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verleih" for "verzeih" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verleih" or "verzeih"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verleih" and "verzeih" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verleih" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verzeih" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #865,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verleih" and "verzeih" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verzeih vs verzieh". 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 #865,441 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.