verleitenvsverletzenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,451
“verleiten” frequency rank
#6,739
“verletzen” frequency rank
35190
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verleiten verletzen
Definition jemanden zu einer Handlung veranlassen, die er von sich aus nicht gemacht hätte jemanden physisch (auch lebensgefährlich oder tödlich) verwunden

Where the eye mixes verleiten and verletzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verleiten (CVCCVVCVC) and verletzen (CVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
verleiten
9 ch
verletzen

Why the eye confuses verleiten with verletzen

A purely visual mix-up. verleiten ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 35190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verleiten is recorded at frequency rank #28,451, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]. 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 35190, this pair ranks #1,645,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verleiten vs verletzen

Shared letters: elnrtv. Private to "verleiten": i. Private to "verletzen": z.

"verleiten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verletzen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verleiten ← evrleiten · velreiten · vereliten · verleietn · verleitenn · verleitne · verleitten · verletien
  • verletzen ← evrletzen · velretzen · vereltzen · verletezn · verlettzen · verletzenn · verletzne · verletzzen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verleiten" and "verletzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈlaɪ̯tn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlɛt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verleiten" vs "verletzen" - which ranks higher?
"verletzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,739 in our German list, against #28,451 for "verleiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "verleiten" and "verletzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verleiten" 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 #1,645,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verleiten" and "verletzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vereiteln vs verleiten". 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 #1,645,882 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