verliefenvsverlinkenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,949
“verliefen” frequency rank
#18,743
“verlinken” frequency rank
41692
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verliefen verlinken
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verlaufen einen Hyperlink (Verweis) setzen, über Hyperlinks verknüpfen

Where the eye mixes verliefen and verlinken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verliefen (CVCCVVCVC) and verlinken (CVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
verliefen
9 ch
verlinken

Why the eye confuses verliefen with verlinken

A purely visual mix-up. verliefen ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩]) and verlinken ([fɛɐ̯ˈlɪŋkn̩]) 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 41692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verliefen is recorded at frequency rank #22,949, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩]. verlinken is at rank #18,743, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈlɪŋkn̩].

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 41692, this pair ranks #1,471,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verliefen vs verlinken

Shared letters: eilnrv. Private to "verliefen": f. Private to "verlinken": k.

"verliefen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verlinken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verliefenevrliefen · velriefen · verilefen · verleifen · verlieefn · verliefenn · verlieffen · verliefne
  • verlinkenevrlinken · velrinken · verilnken · verliknen · verlinekn · verlinkenn · verlinkken · verlinkne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verliefen" for "verlinken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːfn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈlɪŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verliefen" vs "verlinken" - which ranks higher?
"verlinken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,743 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verliefen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,471,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verliefen" and "verlinken" 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 #1,471,909 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