verlogenvsversagenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verlogen is a adjective, versagen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verlogen” is an adjective and “versagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,438
“verlogen” frequency rank
#6,119
“versagen” frequency rank
40557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlogen versagen
Definition Unwahres vortäuschend, unecht nicht so funktionieren, wie es geplant war oder üblich ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verlogen and versagen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
verlogen
8 ch
versagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verlogen is [fɛɐ̯ˈloːɡn̩] while versagen is [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verlogen is recorded at frequency rank #34,438, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈloːɡn̩]. versagen is at rank #6,119, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzaːɡn̩].

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 40557, this pair ranks #1,504,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verlogen vs versagen

Shared letters: egnrv. Private to "verlogen": lo. Private to "versagen": as.

"verlogen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "versagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verlogenevrlogen · velrogen · verlgoen · verllogen · verloegn · verlogenn · verloggen · verlogne
  • versagenevrsagen · verasgen · verrsagen · versaegn · versagenn · versaggen · versagne · versgaen

Frequency comparison

verlogen#34,438
versagen#6,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlogen" and "versagen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verlogen" is an adjective and "versagen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verlogen" or "versagen"?
"versagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,119 in our German list, against #34,438 for "verlogen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verlogen vs versagen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “verlogen”; for a verb, it's “versagen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verlogen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list