verlesenvsverliefenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,753
“verlesen” frequency rank
#22,949
“verliefen” frequency rank
42702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlesen verliefen
Definition einen Fehler beim Lesen machen; etwas falsch lesen; ein oder mehrere Worte beim Lesen verwechseln 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen

Where the eye mixes verlesen and verliefen

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

8 ch
verlesen
9 ch
verliefen

Look-alike desk: verlesen vs verliefen

A purely visual mix-up. verlesen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩]) and verliefen ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩]) 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 42702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlesen is recorded at frequency rank #19,753, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩]. verliefen is at rank #22,949, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩].

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 42702, this pair ranks #1,441,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verlesen vs verliefen

Shared letters: elnrv. Private to "verlesen": s. Private to "verliefen": fi.

"verlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "verliefen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlesenevrlesen · velresen · verelsen · verleesn · verlesenn · verlesne · verlessen · verllesen
  • verliefenevrliefen · velriefen · verilefen · verleifen · verlieefn · verliefenn · verlieffen · verliefne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verlesen" and "verliefen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verlesen" vs "verliefen" - which ranks higher?
"verlesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,753 in our German list, against #22,949 for "verliefen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verlesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verliefen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,441,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlesen" and "verliefen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verliefen vs vermiesen". 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 #1,441,227 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