verleihvsverzeiheTell them apart

Which to use

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

#28,000
“verleih” frequency rank
#36,712
“verzeihe” frequency rank
64712
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verleih verzeihe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verleihen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verzeihen

Where the eye mixes verleih and verzeihe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verleih runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against verzeihe's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
verleih
8 ch
verzeihe

Why the eye confuses verleih with verzeihe

A purely visual mix-up. verleih ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯]) and verzeihe ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ə]) 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 64712, 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]. verzeihe is at rank #36,712, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ə].

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 64712, this pair ranks #631,972 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verleih vs verzeihe

Shared letters: ehirv. Private to "verleih": l. Private to "verzeihe": z.

"verleih" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "verzeihe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verleihevrleih · velreih · verelih · verlehi · verleihh · verlleih · verrleih · vreleih
  • verzeiheevrzeihe · verezihe · verrzeihe · verzehie · verzeieh · verzeihhe · verziehe · verzzeihe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verleih" and "verzeihe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verleih" vs "verzeihe" - which ranks higher?
"verleih" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,000 in our German list, against #36,712 for "verzeihe". 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 "verzeihe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #631,972 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verleih" and "verzeihe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verzeihe vs vorzeige". 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 #631,972 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