Which to use
“verleihen” and “verletzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,415
- “verleihen” frequency rank
- #6,739
- “verletzen” frequency rank
- 14154
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verleihen | verletzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas zeitweise jemandem überlassen | jemanden physisch (auch lebensgefährlich oder tödlich) verwunden |
Where the eye mixes verleihen and verletzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses verleihen with verletzen
A purely visual mix-up. verleihen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən]) and verletzen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɛt͡sn̩]) 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 14154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verleihen is recorded at frequency rank #7,415, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən]. verletzen is at rank #6,739, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɛt͡sn̩].
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 14154, this pair ranks #1,953,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verleihen vs verletzen
Shared letters: elnrv. Private to "verleihen": hi. Private to "verletzen": tz.
"verleihen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verletzen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verleihen" for "verletzen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verleihen" vs "verletzen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verleihen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verletzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,953,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verleihen" and "verletzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verletzen vs verletzend". 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 #1,953,187 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.