verlierenvsverlierstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,375
“verlieren” frequency rank
#18,742
“verlierst” frequency rank
20117
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlieren verlierst
Definition etwas irgendwo hinlegen und es später nicht mehr wiederfinden 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlieren

Where the eye mixes verlieren and verlierst

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

9 ch
verlieren
9 ch
verlierst

Why the eye confuses verlieren with verlierst

A purely visual mix-up. verlieren ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən]) and verlierst ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯st]) 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 20117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlieren is recorded at frequency rank #1,375, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən]. verlierst is at rank #18,742, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯st].

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 20117, this pair ranks #1,901,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlieren vs verlierst

Shared letters: eilrv. Private to "verlieren": n. Private to "verlierst": st.

"verlieren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verlierst" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlieren ← evrlieren · velrieren · verileren · verleiren · verlieern · verlierenn · verlierne · verlierren
  • verlierst ← evrlierst · velrierst · verilerst · verleirst · verlierrst · verliersst · verlierstt · verlierts

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verlieren" and "verlierst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verlieren" vs "verlierst" - which ranks higher?
"verlieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,375 in our German list, against #18,742 for "verlierst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "verlieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlierst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,901,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verlieren" and "verlierst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlierst vs vorliest". 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 #1,901,073 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