Which to use
“Verleihung” and “Verzeihung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,477
- “Verleihung” frequency rank
- #17,455
- “Verzeihung” frequency rank
- 25932
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verleihung | Verzeihung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitweise Überlassung | das Vergeben eines Fehlverhaltens, die Annahme einer Entschuldigung |
Where the eye mixes Verleihung and Verzeihung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Verleihung and Verzeihung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Verleihung with Verzeihung
A purely visual mix-up. Verleihung ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ʊŋ]) and Verzeihung ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ʊŋ]) 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 “Verleihung” becomes z in “Verzeihung”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Verleihung is recorded at frequency rank #8,477, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯ʊŋ]. Verzeihung is at rank #17,455, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ʊŋ].
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 25932, this pair ranks #1,825,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verleihung vs Verzeihung
Shared letters: eghinruv. Private to "Verleihung": l. Private to "Verzeihung": z.
"Verleihung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC · "Verzeihung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Verleihung ← evrleihung · velreihung · verelihung · verlehiung · verleihhung · verleihnug · verleihugn · verleihungg
- Verzeihung ← evrzeihung · verezihung · verrzeihung · verzehiung · verzeihhung · verzeihnug · verzeihugn · verzeihungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Verleihung" and "Verzeihung" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Verleihung" or "Verzeihung" show up more?
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 "Verleihung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verzeihung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,825,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verleihung" and "Verzeihung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verzeihung vs Verzerrung". 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 #1,825,798 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.