Which to use
“verlieh” and “verzieh” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,867
- “verlieh” frequency rank
- #49,358
- “verzieh” frequency rank
- 66225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlieh | verzieh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verleihen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verzeihen |
Where the eye mixes verlieh and verzieh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verlieh and verzieh follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verlieh with verzieh
A purely visual mix-up. verlieh ([fɛɐ̯ˈliː]) and verzieh ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡siː]) 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 “verlieh” becomes z in “verzieh”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verlieh is recorded at frequency rank #16,867, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliː]. verzieh is at rank #49,358, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡siː].
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 66225, this pair ranks #580,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verlieh vs verzieh
Shared letters: ehirv. Private to "verlieh": l. Private to "verzieh": z.
"verlieh" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "verzieh" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verlieh" and "verzieh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verlieh" or "verzieh"?
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 "verlieh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verzieh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #580,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlieh" and "verzieh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermied vs verzieh". 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 #580,367 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.