Which to use
“verlesen” and “vorlesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,753
- “verlesen” frequency rank
- #12,413
- “vorlesen” frequency rank
- 32166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlesen | vorlesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Fehler beim Lesen machen; etwas falsch lesen; ein oder mehrere Worte beim Lesen verwechseln | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen und sprachlich laut wiedergeben; laut lesen, so dass andere es hören können |
Where the eye mixes verlesen and vorlesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verlesen and vorlesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verlesen and vorlesen
A purely visual mix-up. verlesen ([fɛɐ̯ˈleːzn̩]) and vorlesen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩]) 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 - e in “verlesen” becomes o in “vorlesen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32166, 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]. vorlesen is at rank #12,413, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩].
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 32166, this pair ranks #1,713,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verlesen vs vorlesen
Shared letters: elnrsv. Private to "verlesen": -. Private to "vorlesen": o.
"verlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "vorlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verlesen" and "vorlesen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verlesen" or "vorlesen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verlesen" and "vorlesen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorlesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,713,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlesen" and "vorlesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlesen 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 #1,713,349 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.