verleihenvsverzeiheConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,415
“verleihen” frequency rank
#36,712
“verzeihe” frequency rank
44127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verleihen verzeihe
Definition etwas zeitweise jemandem überlassen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verzeihen

Where the eye mixes verleihen and verzeihe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verleihen runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against verzeihe's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
verleihen
8 ch
verzeihe

Visual trap between verleihen and verzeihe

A purely visual mix-up. verleihen ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən]) 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 44127, 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]. 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 44127, this pair ranks #1,396,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verleihen vs verzeihe

Shared letters: ehirv. Private to "verleihen": ln. Private to "verzeihe": z.

"verleihen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verzeihe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verleihen ← evrleihen · velreihen · verelihen · verlehien · verleiehn · verleihenn · verleihhen · verleihne
  • verzeihe ← evrzeihe · verezihe · verrzeihe · verzehie · verzeieh · verzeihhe · verziehe · verzzeihe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verleihen" and "verzeihe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verleihen" vs "verzeihe" - which ranks higher?
"verleihen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,415 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verleihen" 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 #1,396,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verleihen" 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 #1,396,168 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